Campaign group GE Free NZ wants regulator Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to review its draft approval for Golden Rice, which is genetically modified to produce beta-carotene.
Golden rice (or GR2E) was cultivated by the humanitarian organisation International Rice Research Institute to mitigate vitamin A deficiency in developing countries.
FSANZ recently recommended that products containing traces of golden rice should be able to be sold in Australia and New Zealand.
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However, Claire Bleakley, president of GE Free NZ, questioned the efficacy of the product and urged the Minister for Food Safety Damien O’Connor to ask FSANZ to review the draft.
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“As this rice is only being approved to prevent trade disruption, we ask the Minister to call for a review of the GM rice, and insist on comprehensive 90-day feeding trials that should have been provided before the approval was made.”
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The Institute wants the GR2E rice to be cultivated for humanitarian purposes in developing countries including Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines which are at high risk of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and where 30– 70% of energy intake is derived from rice.
While acknowledging that GR2E rice will not solve the issue of population-based VAD for these countries, it believes it can be a major part of an overarching strategy to reduce deficiency.
Read full, original post: Anti-GM group calls for Golden Rice review in Australia and New Zealand
