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Dear Food Labelling Review people
National food labelling laws need to make sure that consumers are not keep in ignorance of the
source of the ingredients in any processed food that is for sale. The right of the consumer to know
what is in that food is paramount and must override the desire of the organisation making or
selling that food to keep hidden or to obfuscate the source and nature of any and all ingredients
that the food contains.
Any GM (genetically modified or manipulated) ingredients in food, no matter how minute the
quantity or proportion, must be labelled, with no exceptions or exemptions. Every person buying
processed food has the right to know what was used to make that food.
If foods are labelled GM-free, the shoppers need to know that the labelling is accurate. If you
allow incomplete labelling, you undermine the trust of the consumer. If somebody does not want
to eat GM food, you have to respect that desire, no matter whether you agree with that position or
not. Buyers need to be free to make their own decision not to buy something they do not want.
Buyers who do not want to eat GM food want to have complete confidence that our food contains
no genetically-modified ingredients, no matter how minute the quantity. If the label says there is
no-GM or irradiated ingredients in a particular food, we want to have complete confidence that no
GM or irradiated ingredients have been allowed into that food and that there is no risk of the
product having been contaminated by those ingredients in its manufacture. All irradiated and GM
ingredients need to be labelled clearly with large enough print to be easily read. To hide the truth
from the buyer is to engage in deception and restraint of a free and fair market.
All food labels need to give true and accurate information. The labelling must not use wording that
misleads the buyer or seeks to hide what is really in the food. The labelling must not be allowed
to use language that pretends that the food is something that it isn't, or has particular 'health'
properties that cannot be proven. Instead of allowing processed food manufacturers to cover their
packets with unprovable claims of great health qualities or health benefits, the labelling laws must
make it compulsory for the food manufacturers to label accurately, truthfully and legibly every
single ingredient AND clearly state whether or not it is grown and/or manufactured free of GM and
irradiation.
Allowing food companies to dictate to the population whether or not we are allowed to know what
is in our food is a direct attack on the principles of fairness and openness in trade.
Food is fundamental to our lives, our well-being and our health. There used to be an old saying:
Don't buy a pig in a poke. Buyer beware! In other words, know what you are buying and examine
it carefully before you buy. But how can the buyer protect themselves from the purchase of
unwanted ingredients, if that food is allowed to be wrapped up in a poke of secrecy and
misleading labelling? You must not allowed food manufacturers to omit vital information, such as
GM origins, from the labelling of all their products.
Please read carefully the submission you will have received from Gene Ethics and make that the
basis for your recommendations. I agree with the well-considered, well-researched view of Gene
Ethics.
GM foods must be labelled as they are among new 'Foods Requiring Pre-Market Clearance'
which use processes that have a limited history of safe use as human food. Food Standard 1.5
requires GM, irradiated and other new foods to undergo Food Standards Australia New Zealand
(FSANZ) pre-market health and safety assessments (not testing), so label them all.
There are giant companies controlling large agri-business (including GM seeds, artificial
fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides) and large food processing and marketing that have a giant
share of the market. These companies have giant budgets which they use in highly slick and
studied ways with the aim of creating in the consumer a particular feeling and excitement about
the product they are selling. The food labelling laws are essential protection for the buyer against
the giant well-funded efforts of companies to sell us what they want us to buy. Information is vital
for the buyer. Please, please, please, let the buyer have the full information. Make sure in your
recommendations that any processed food that contains even a tiny little bit of GM or irradiated
ingredients must be clearly and accurately labelled as containing those ingredients.
If you fail to do this, you are severely denying the buyer our right to know what we are eating and
feeding our families and friends.
Please give the buyer the right to the truth in labelling.
Yours sincerely
Alison Lyssa
3/125 Old South Head Road
Bondi Junction NSW 2022