Published
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is calling for comment on an application to permit the sale and use of food made from a new genetically modified (GM) sugar beet.
Sugar beet line KWS20-1 has been genetically modified to provide herbicide tolerance.
If approved, food products derived from this sugar beet, including refined sugar or molasses, may enter the Australian and New Zealand food supply.
Our safety assessment found no potential public health and safety concerns with food derived from this GM sugar beet. It is as safe as food from non-GM sugar beet varieties.
Safety assessments are a key part of the approval process for all GM foods. To help people make informed choices, food made from this sugar beet would need to be labelled as 'genetically modified' if novel DNA and/or novel proteins were contained in the final food.
The approval would not permit the GM sugar beet to be grown in Australia or New Zealand. Cultivation would require separate regulatory assessment and approval by the Gene Technology Regulator in Australia, and the Environmental Protection Authority in New Zealand.
To have your say about this proposal, visit the FSANZ Consultation Hub. Submissions close at 6pm (AEDT) 14 October 2024.
What happens to my feedback?
Submissions will be published to our website as soon as possible at the end of the public comment period.
FSANZ will consider all feedback received through this submission process before deciding on whether to approve the application.
FSANZ's decision will be notified to ministers responsible for food regulation who can ask for a review or agree that the standard should become law.
More information
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