Public invited to have a say on GM cotton

The Australia and New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) has invited public comment on its proposal to approve the use of a new version of Monsanto's genetically modified Bt-Cotton.

ANZFA approved the use of oil and linters from Monsanto's Ingard Bt Cotton in July 2000 and has recently conducted a scientific assessment of the safety of Monsanto's new Bollgard II strain of Bt cotton.

This strain of Bt cotton contains a second Bt gene, which provides additional protection against insects as well as delaying development of insect resistance to the Bt toxin.

A spokesperson from Monsanto said that Bollgard II is currently only approved for field trials in Australia. The company expects that approval for commercial release of the variety will be granted in late 2002 or early 2003.

According to ANZFA, oil and linters from the new strain is as safe for human consumption as other commercial varieties, including the INGARD strain.

Dr Nora Galway, a senior scientist at ANZFA said that the assessment of the new strain of Bt cotton was extensive.

"We fully characterise what goes on in the plant," she said.

Galway explained that the nature of the genetic change was examined, including sequencing of the insert. The expression of the novel proteins is characterised in the whole plant and in the parts destined for human consumption, in this case the cottonseed oil.

The GM strain is then comprehensively compared to non-GM varieties, analysing a variety of parameters including the levels of proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins in the oils, and naturally occurring toxicant concentrations.

"We then try to gauge how much oil is consumed and the potential exposure to novel proteins," said Galway.

"Obviously for cottonseed oil it is negligible."

Galway also noted that the applicant is responsible for providing the bulk of the data to ANZFA for assessment. The assessment process generally takes 12-18 months to complete.

She said that ANZFA uses both local and international guidelines in its assessment and also seeks opinions from experts.

The draft assessment document is available on the ANZFA website, at www.anzfa.gov.au. Public comments must be submitted by June 19th, 2002.

ANZFA is an independent regulatory body that develops food standards for domestically produced and imported food products in Australia and New Zealand.