Australia
20 June 2013
What is the situation in the USA?
On 29 May 2013, the United States of America (USA) advised that a small number of genetically modified (GM) wheat plants had been detected in a field in Oregon.
Subsequent investigation and testing by the US Department of Agriculture has not found any more GM wheat, either in the field, in the seed supplied to the farm, in the wheat harvested from the farm or in any other wheat varieties tested. The US has stated that there is no evidence at this time to suggest that this is anything other than a single isolated incident in a single field on a single farm in Oregon.
No GM wheat varieties are approved for sale or commercial production in the USA, Australia or anywhere else in the world.
The GM variety has been confirmed as the glyphosate herbicide tolerant variety (MON71800) that Monsanto was authorised to field test in the USA from 1998 to 2005. The last field test in Oregon occurred in 2001. There were no field trials on the farm that the GM wheat was found on.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assessed this variety of GM wheat in 2004 and determined that this variety is as safe for food and animal feed as non-GM wheat currently on the market.
The USA is continuing to investigate how this happened. More information is available from the US Department of Agriculture website
What is the situation in Australia?
There is no evidence to suggest that this GM wheat has been imported into Australia.
Australia has a strong system to regulate GM plants and food:
- the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) regulates work with GM organisms
- Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) is responsible for food safety, including GM food
- the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) is responsible for import and export certification
- the States and Territories also play an important role.
GM wheat has not been authorised to be grown commercially in Australia by the Gene Technology Regulator and has not been approved for food use by FSANZ.
DAFF has advised that no imports of wheat have been permitted from the USA for processing or human consumption.
The OGTR provides strict oversight of GM crop trials in Australia.
The Gene Technology Regulator has issued 14 licences for limited and controlled field trials of GM wheat, and 11 of these licences are still current. Each trial is limited in size and duration.
Trials are conducted under strict licence conditions based on comprehensive risk assessment and risk management plans and involving strict containment measures. Sites must be monitored during and after trials and any remaining material after harvest destroyed. There has been no breach of containment for any GM wheat trials.
Wheat from these trials is prohibited from entering the human or animal food supplies. The OGTR approval process is transparent and information about GM crop trials, including locations of the trial sites, is available on the OGTR website.
What happens next?
The OGTR is continuing to liaise with DAFF and FSANZ to monitor and assess the situation.
The Australian Government is communicating with the US government on this issue (in Canberra and Washington) and will continue to monitor developments as updates become available.
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