| There is a belief that a tolerance level will be accepted in non-GM produce but it will only be tolerated at a cost. There are 3 classifications of grain:
- GM Free - guaranteed and until released on a Federal level was covered due to certificates provided by the OGTR to quarantine. Since Federal approval guarantees are now given by our marketers based on the signed declarations farmers provide on delivering GM-free grain at receival points. Legally to sell as GM-free or non-GM in Australia, there must be no trace of GM detected in the produce (ACCC confirmation).
- Non-GM – In some countries there is an acceptance of a level of adventitious (accidental) amount of contamination provided that the product is not required to be labelled as GM. EU @ 0.9% and Japan @ 5%. However, the buyers rely on a rigorous paper trail showing the actions that the farmer and the supply chain have taken in order to prevent contamination. This includes a rigorous testing regime which will be extremely difficult considering the recommendation by industry of a GM canola testing regime takes approx. 8 weeks. This cost of an identity preservation system was estimated by ABARE and the Federal DAFF at 10-15% of the value of the product ($35/tonne) to maintain a 1% tolerance level. While this is a legislative acceptance, market standards and buyer standards are often lower. German regulators stated there is a requirement to label as GM if any GM contamination over 0.1% is found during the testing of the supply chain.
- GM - The finished product must be labelled if GM is present in levels above the set tolerance level, if GM is found in testing throughout the supply chain as part of the identity preservation system or if there is no identity preservation system and no guarantee of GM-free . Japan is required to label as "not segregated from GM" if there is no identity preservation system and contamination levels do not exceed 5%.
Australia has no identity preservation system and no rigorous testing regime and unless there is a guarantee of GM-free status, farmers may be effectively forced to market as GM if any contamination is found. |
