FOODS FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS

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FOODS FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS

• Wilna Jansen v Rijssen
• Food Control
• Department of Health
• Vrijsw_at_health.gov.za

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FOODS FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS

• Department of Health
• www.gov.za/department/health
• Cluster Pharmaceutical Policy and Planning
• Food Control

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LEGISLATION

• Genetically Modified Organisms Act, 1997 (Act 15
  of 1997)
• Genetically modified organisms

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GMO ACT

• Department of Agriculture
• Executive Council for GMOs
• DoA, DACST, DEAT, DoH, Do, DTI
• Advisory Committee - experts

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FOOD FROM GMO

• GMO maize kernels
• Not a GMO but obtained from GMO and containing
  GM-material maize meal
• Not a GMO but obtained from GMO and not
  containing GMO material glucose

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LEGISLATION

• DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
• Food industry
• (processed foods)
• Consumers

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LEGISLATION

• Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972
  (Act 54 of 1972)
• Food safety

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FCD ACT

• Department of Health
• Directorate Food Control
• Group GMO food
• 4 professionals
• 5 Masters degrees (Biotechnology/Microbiolog
  y/
• Plantbiochemistry/Toxicology and Nutrition)

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FCD ACT

• Group GMO food
• Confidentiality clearance
• Ethical Boards
• Pharmacy Council
• SA Council for Natural Scientific Professions

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FCD ACT

• Roles, Functions and responsibilities of Group
  GMO food
• GMO - Food Safety
• GMO Food Labelling
• GMO Food Communicate

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FCD ACT/GMO ACT

• FOOD SAFETY
• Roles, Functions and responsibilities of Group
  GMO food
• Verify compliance of applications with SA
  legislation and policies, international standards
  and guidelines
• Risk assessments
• Write reports
• Advise the Director Food Control

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FCD ACT / GMO ACT
Dept of Health Director Food Control
Dept of Agriculture Exec Council for GMOs
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FOOD SAFETY

• Authorities
• Codex Alimentarius (FAO/WHO)
• Organization for Economic and Social Development
  ( OECD ) 22 countries
• International Life Sciences (ILSI)
• Others

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FOOD SAFETY

• Codex Alimentarius (FAO/WHO)
• International Food Safety Standards and
  Guidelines based on science
• Facilitate trade
• World Trade Organization

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CODEX ALIMENTARIUS

• General Principles for the Risk Analysis of Foods
  derived from Modern Biotechnology
• Guidelines for the conduct of safety assessment
  of foods derived from recombinant-DNA plants
• Micro-0rganisms (in preparation)
• ( fish)

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FOOD SAFETY

• FCD Act
• Policy Guidelines for toxicological assessments
• OECD Guidelines for tests
• Chemicals (pesticides)
• Microbial pest control agents
• Botanical pest control agents (prep)
• GMO-foods based on CODEX (new)
• website

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CODEX ALIMENTARIUS

• RISK ANALYSIS
• Risk Assessment
• Risk Management
• Risk Communication

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CODEX ALIMENTARIUS

• RISK HAZARD X EXPOSURE

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GMO SAFETY AND RISK ASSESSMENT

• Case by case
• Expressed substances (non-nucleic acid
  substances)
• Compositional analysis of key components
• Evaluation of metabolites
• Food processing
• Nutritional modification
• others

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GMO RISK MANAGEMENT

• Legislation
• Policies
• Executive Council for GMO
• Implementation

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GMO RISK MANAGEMENT

• Policies - DOH
• Codex Alimentarius standards and guidelines
• Departmental Guidelines for chemicals/pesticides
• Full assessments of GMO and products
• Full assessment of GMOs for food and for feed
• Antibiotic resistant genes phased out

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CODEX QA

• What overarching scientific principles should be
  applied to the safety and nutritional assessment?

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CODEX QA

• Substantial equivalence?
• Concept not a method
• Well established component of Risk Assessment
• No alternative strategies to provide a better
  assurance.

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CODEX QA

• Long-term effects?
• Pre-marketing safety assessment and methodology
  used are adequate to detect and evaluate any
  possible long-term effects.

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CODEX QA

• Potential allergenicity?
• Assessment of potential allergenicity to be
  conducted in all cases

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CODEX QA

• Risks arising from the use of antibiotic
  resistance marker genes in plants and micro-org?
• Subject to standard safety assessment as for any
  other introduced gene product

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ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

• Gene transfer from plants and their food products
  to gut organisms or human cells only a rare
  possibility
• Alternative transformation technologies encouraged

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FAO DIRECTOR-GENERAL Dr Jacques Diouf, Manilla,
7 December 1999

• We have no problem with GMOs as long as they are
  proven to be safe to human beings and have no
  negative impact on the environment

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EUROPEAN UNION9 OCTOBER 2001

• 81 research projects financed by the EU over the
  last 15 years, at a cost of 64 million on GM
  crops and products made from. Research has not
  found any new risks to human health or the
  environment beyond the usual uncertainties of
  conventional plant breeding

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EUROPEAN UNION9 OCTOBER 2001

• Research has not found any new risks to human
  health or the environment beyond the usual
  uncertainties of conventional plant breeding
• Indeed, the use of more precise technology and
  greater regulatory scrutiny probably make them
  even safer than conventional plants and food

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COMMUNICATIONFCD ACT

• LABELLING REGULATIONS
• A label not a warning but only a method to convey
  information and to provide a choice.

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CONSULTATIONS Total 35

• Port Folio 3
• Interviews radio, TV, journals, telephone,
  others
• Conferences 4
• Groups 9
• Workshop1 (71 representatives)
• Workshops2 3 4
• (food industry)
• Workshop comments

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CONSULTATIONS

• FOOD LEGISLATION ADVISORY GROUP
• 5 MEETING
• FLAG sub committee

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CODEX ALIMENTARIUS

• Framework
• Codex Definitions

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DRAFT LABELLING REGULATIONS

• Mandate from the Minister

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DRAFT LABELLING REGULATIONS

• Mandatory nutritional and natural toxin changes
  / allergens / genes from animals or humans
• Voluntary Improved / enhanced characteristics
• Voluntary Non-genetically modified

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FOOD FROM GMO

• GMO maize kernels
• Not a GMO but obtained from GMO and containing
  GM-genetic material maize meal
• Not a GMO but obtained from GMO and not
  containing GMO material glucose

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CODEX ALIMENTARIUSLABELLING

• PRINCIPLES
• No food should be described or presented in a
  manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or
  is likely to create an erroneous impression
  regarding its character in any respect.
• Must substantiate a claim

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CODEX ALIMENTARIUSLABELLING

• PROHIBITED CLAIMS
• are e.g. those that
• cannot be substantiated
• could give rise to doubt about the safety, or
• exploit fear in the consumer.

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SA Labelling Regulation

• MISLEADING
• Analytical Methods are NOT RELIABLE
• Few Methods validated
• No statistically acceptable sampling methods
• Paper trailing not reliable

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LABELLING

• COST
• Verification expensive
• 30 000 products of soybeans and maize only
• Increase in price with 8 to 18 (Australia)

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SA LABELLING Regulation

• CHOICE
• PRICE
• Small percentage consumers read the detail on
  labels
• Choice could decrease with increasing production
  /manufacturing of GM-food

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SA LABELLING Regulation

• NON GM Food
• Identity preservation system
• (Segregation)
• Export channel

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SA LABELLING Regulation

• Recommendations
• SABS Code of Practice IPS
• Guidelines