In this edition:

• GE wheat: the biggest battle yet
• Food Irradiation – nobody wants it except Turners & Growers
• FSANZ says avoid mercury in fish – but how would we know?
• Soya-based infant formulas – a food of last resort
• GE Food Labelling – Australian Senate Enquiry
• Caged Eggs
• Bird Flu – New Zealand fails to take a precautionary approach
• Salmon that are fed chicken feathers…
• CoOL food warms up
• Junk food advertising—Britain leads the way
• Don’t sniff those roses
• Chicken Manure --a potential threat to human and environmental health
• High fibre, low fat reduces breast cancer risk
• Free fruit in UK schools
• UK Food Industry warned to cut salt in processed products

GE wheat: the biggest battle yet
In yet another attack on the integrity of our food supply, Monsanto is seeking approval from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to allow genetically modified wheat in our food supply. If approved (and FSANZ has not turned down any applications for GE commodities yet), it will join GE soy, cotton, canola and sugarbeet as unwelcome (and unlabelled) contaminants in our food. (20 GM commodities have already been approved).

Wheat is a particular concern, because it is the basic staple of our diet, and it is very hard for most people to avoid consuming it.

The wheat is engineered to be resistant to glyphosate (Roundup) so we can expect increased residues of this toxic chemical in our food as well as the GE contaminants.

So far GE wheat is not being grown anywhere in the world. It has been under development for years in North America, but there has been strong resistance against it by wheat farmers who are nervous about contamination problems, EU consumer reaction and subsequent loss of markets. Seeking FSANZ approval is part of a global campaign by Monsanto to erode that resistance and persuade growers to plant it. If FSANZ gives the go-ahead, it may not be long before Monsanto tries to get ERMA’s approval to grow the genetically engineered wheat here as well.

For all of these reasons, the Green Party regards this application as a watershed in our struggle to preserve the integrity and health of our food supply.

Astonishingly, the scientific data supporting the application is only available at the Wellington office of FSANZ --and most of it will not arrive until 7 days before the application closes. Anyone wanting to examine the data, so that they can make an informed submission, will have to pay to come to Wellington, and then pay to view the data and to photocopy it. We have called on the Minister to put the data up on the website for all to see but so far she is refusing our call.

Submissions against the genetically engineered wheat can be sent to FSANZ until March 30th.

Monsanto’s application, A524, can be found here. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.foodstandards.gov.au, then scroll down to "WHAT'S NEW", click on the last line "Documents for public comment", and you will find it half way down the list.

Application for Genetically Engineered Sugar Beet

Monsanto is also seeking approval from FSANZ to allow genetically modified sugar beets into our food supply. (Application A525.)

The sugar beets would be inserted with agrobacterium tumifaciens, a soil bacterium that causes crown gall disease in plants. It transfers its own DNA into the plant, leading to a dramatic increase in plant hormone production and tumorous growth of plant cells. This is called crown gall disease because of the appearance of tumors on the crown of the plant.

The sole purpose of infecting our food crops with this disease is to make them resistant to glyphosate -- the main chemical used in Monsanto's herbicide, Roundup.

Sugar derived from these genetically modified beets will not contain proteins from the plants, and so will not need to be labelled as a GM food under our feeble labelling regulationsSubmissions can be submitted to FSANZ until 31 March 2004. For more information on Monsanto's Round-up Ready GM foods, check out http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/genetics/commercialisation/monsanto.htm#CurrentSituation

Food Irradiation – nobody wants it except Turners & Growers
MAF is about to declare irradiation as a new ‘biosecurity measure’ for treating tropical fruit with fruitfly. This will clear the way for Australian companies to export irradiated tropical fruit from fruitfly infested Queensland to New Zealand.

The US company that originally applied for approval to export irradiated tropical fruit to New Zealand, Surebeam Corporation, collapsed earlier this year, and we were hoping their plans to dump irradiated tropical fruit into the New Zealand market would collapse with it.

Unfortunately, their partners in the venture, our very own New Zealand company Turners & Growers, seem determined to go ahead with the venture, despite my appeals to them to drop their plans to build a food irradiation plant in Queensland.

Meanwhile, another irradiation company, Steritech, is already up and running despite considerable community opposition, and has the capacity to irradiate food as well as the medical equipment they currently zap. It appears to be waiting in the wings ready to export irradiated mangoes as soon as MAF gives irradiation the green light as a biosecurity standard.

I will be meeting with Australian anti-irradiation groups in Brisbane at Easter to discuss joint campaigns, and have written to Steritech asking if I could have a visit of their irradiation facility.

Irradiation, you will recall, creates carcinogenic compounds called 2-ACBs (2-alkylcyclobutanones) in a number of foods, including mangoes. Scientists in Europe are urging caution after studies linked these chemicals with bowel cancer and genetic damage.

It also reduces the nutritional value of food and partially destroys vitamins C, A, E and thiamine, along with fatty acids and enzymes crucial for good health. Irradiation can change the colour, taste and texture of foods, and hide odours which indicate food is spoiled. It can also be used to substitute good manufacturing practices and cover up contamination.Its vital that consumers keep up the pressure on Turners & Growers.

Write or email and tell them we don't want their irradiated food.

Turners & Growers Limited
PO Box 56 Auckland
Ph: 09-914 5690; 09-914 5703
Fax: 09-914 5701
Email: helpinghand [at] turnersandgrowers [dot] com ">helpinghand [at] turnersandgrowers [dot] com

FSANZ says avoid mercury in fish – but how would we know?
Food Standards Australia New Zealand has just revised its advice on mercury in fish, and is recommending that everyone, (not just pregnant women and children) limit their consumption of high risk fish such as shark, Orange Roughy and blue fin tuna, because of concerns at the health effects of consuming fish which may contain high levels of mercury.

We don't know what levels of mercury are present in high risk fish in New Zealand, however, because no testing is carried out to estimate this. The only official testing that has been carried out is on three types of low risk fish.

I am calling on the government to urgently test the mercury levels of commonly consumed high risk fish to ensure that they are safe for consumers to eat. Mercury affects the central nervous system, and can cross the blood brain barrier and the placenta and accumulate in the body.

Soya-based infant formulas – a food of last resort
The UK’s Chief Medical Officer has warned that soya-based infant formulas should not be used as the first choice for infants who have cow’s milk sensitivity, lactose intolerance, galactokinase deficiency or galactosaemia. His warning comes after a report from the UK Committee on Toxicity said these formulae have a high phytoestrogen content which could pose a risk to the long-term reproductive health of infants.

The CMO says soya-based infant formulas should only be used in exceptional circumstances to ensure adequate nutrition, such as for infants of vegan parents who are not breast-feeding and who find other alternatives unacceptable.An independent advisory body, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, has advised that there is no particular health benefit for healthy children in consuming soy-based infant formula; and that there is no unique clinical condition that requires the use of soy-based infant formulas.

GE Food Labelling – Australian Senate Enquiry
Recently I gave evidence to the Australian Senate Community Affairs Committee inquiry into Green Senator Bob Brown’s bill which calls for mandatory GE labelling of all foods from genetically engineered sources. The bill is modelled on my private members bill, still in the parliamentary ballot system, the Consumer’s Right to Know (Food Information) Bill.This was an historic first: a New Zealand MP forced to give evidence to an Australian parliamentary inquiry in order to try to achieve regulatory change here, and it reveals just how serious is our loss of sovereignty over our food labelling and standards.The Committee reported that it received a large volume of submissions, and that “the overwhelming majority” of these were from New Zealand. In fact of the 582 submissions, a massive 544 were from New Zealand. Congratulations to all those who made the effort to send in submissions!

Caged eggs
I intend to amend my Consumer Right to Know bill to require that eggs produced from hens in cages must be labelled as such. It is very confusing for consumers to work out that eggs labelled ‘farm fresh’ have in fact been reared in battery hen cages. Other countries such as the Netherlands require all caged eggs to be labelled as such, so that consumers can easily work out whether an egg comes from a hen that has spent its life in a cage or not. SAFE and the SPCA will be launching campaigns on this issue in the next few months.

Bird flu – New Zealand fails to take a precautionary approach
Last month I called on MAF to halt our imports of poultry products from Asia as a precaution against the Avian bird flu epidemic sweeping Asia. MAF responded by saying there was no risk to New Zealand and initially denied that we imported any poultry products from the affected countries.

When I revealed that we had in fact imported over 31,000 tonnes of poultry products from countries affected by the current outbreak of bird flu last year, MAF still said these imports posed no risk to New Zealand – even products such as poultry skin, feathers and down, which are not even sterilized!

Unlike New Zealand, the EU has prudently adopted a safety-first approach, despite assessing the risk of importing the virus in meat products as very low, and banned these products. I have repeated my call to the government to take the same precautionary approach and ban all poultry products from countries affected with Avian flu. For if the virus ever reached New Zealand it could spread rapidly through our chicken factories where millions of chickens are raised in intensive and overcrowded conditions that encourage the spreading of diseases. It could also spread rapidly via raw poultry litter which is spread as fertiliser around New Zealand.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recently reported that one third of global meat exports have been affected by bird flu and mad cow disease outbreaks, which are expected to result in a $10 billion loss in revenue in 2004. One hundred million poultry have already died or been culled in the region (often suffering hideously cruel deaths) as a result of the disease.

Salmon that are fed chicken feathers…
There has been a strong public reaction to revelations that King Salmon and Sanford (two of the largest salmon producers in NZ) feed their fish ground poultry feathers. But when challenged in a radio interview, King Salmon’s manager said he had only had a few consumer complaints about the practice! Given the number of people who have contacted me I find this hard to believe, and encourage anyone with concerns to make them known to these companies (see below for contact details).

Both companies claim that feathermeal is a safe source of protein for fish. But UK marine expert and environmentalist Don Staniford, who visited King Salmon's farm in Pelorus Sound, said he was not aware of any other country using feathermeal in salmon farming. He said this practice was a recipe for disaster and had been implicated in BSE.

I agree, it is extremely foolhardy to feed fish animal protein. Feeding meat and bone meal to fish is banned in Europe.Consumers too are generally repulsed at the thought of eating salmon that has been fed ground up chicken feathers, and I have fielded many calls from people wanting to know where to purchase salmon that hasn’t been fed chicken feathers.Mt Cook Salmon says they do not use feathermeal in their salmon feed. Nor does Almond aquaculture in Blenheim.

King Salmon also acknowledges using the anti-parasite treatment formalin - a known cancer-causing agent - in small quantities in the salmon hatcheries. Formalin is a European Union-banned substance, but is legal in New Zealand. All farmed salmon are also fed artificial colourings, such as canthaxanthin and astaxanthin, to make their flesh pink. Predictably, the only response from the New Zealand Food Safety Authority to the news was that as long as the feed complied with the rules of the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act then there were no concerns!

CoOL food warms up
The campaign to require Country of Origin labelling of our food is beginning to warm up, following a decision by the Australia New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council that FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) begin work on a joint Australia New Zealand standard for Country of Origin labelling.

Our government, you will recall, is vehemently opposed to Country of Origin labelling, so we can assume it was outvoted at the Ministerial Council meeting, where New Zealand has one vote and Australia 10 votes. (There is no way of finding out, because all agendas and meetings of this body are secret). The Minister confirmed in answer to a written question this week that the government remains opposed to CoOL, despite the FSANZ process underway.

A proposed standard on CoOL will be released for public consultation sometime this year. I will alert you as soon as I know when. The Green Party will be leading a campaign for it, because we regard it as a basic consumer right to know where our food comes from. Most consumers do not realise that we import about 30 thousand tonnes of meat each year, including lamb and mutton, and a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables as well. In the absence of a label, many assume that all this imported produce comes from New Zealand.

Junk food advertising—Britain leads the way
In the ongoing campaign against obesity, the British Food Safety Agency has released an action plan to improve children’s diets which actually calls for significant changes. From next year it will test foods marketed at children and name those not meeting its guidelines. It wants schools and leisure centres to reject vending machines with branding associated with less healthy foods. It wants the government to cease endorsing promotional campaigns that encourage children to eat less healthy foods, and celebrities to encourage children to eat healthier.

Concerned about the imbalance in TV food advertising aimed at children, the Chairman of the FSA, Sir John Krebs, said “Children are bombarded with messages that promote food high in fat, salt and sugar. The evidence shows that these messages do influence them. Eating too much of these foods is storing up health problems for their future.” The FSA stopped short of banning the promotion of junk food to children, however.In another move the big fast food chains and Coca Cola have been called to the British Health Select Committee to answer charges that they have targeted children to make profits from products that damage their health. The Health Select Committee is examining a ban on children’s advertising by food and drink companies, and will ask companies to explain their marketing strategies.

Earlier this month, British doctors' groups urged the government to take swift action over the "terrifying health consequences" of the nation's obesity problem. A joint report by three leading medical groups warned that if nothing was done, a third of all British adults would be clinically obese by 2020, as well as a similar proportion of girls and a fifth of all boys.

Our government needs to start moving quickly to prove they are actually committed to addressing the obesity epidemic that faces our country.

Don’t sniff those roses
The Warehouse has been dobbed in for passing off imported Indian roses as New Zealand roses – a Valentines Day special. But they are more likely to poison the one you love than please them: the roses had been dipped in the herbicide glyphosate to prevent propagation. Not surprisingly the label didn’t state that the roses carried a toxic message.

Chicken Manure --a potential threat to human and environmental health
The government has confirmed, in answer to my written questions, that it allows raw chicken manure from factory farms to be spread as a fertiliser over paddocks around New Zealand, although it has never tested that manure to ensure there are not contaminants in it such as arsenic (from arsenic containing animal 'remedies' that are fed to chickens) or for the presence of bacteria such as campylobacter or antibiotic resistant bacteria. An Otago study has found antibiotic resistant bacteria in up to fifty percent of many chicken flocks, and we know that these bacteria are hardy and can survive for weeks in the open air. But no one is checking to make sure we are not inadvertently spreading antibiotic resistant bacteria, and campylobacter, around our environment.

High fibre, low fate reduces breast cancer risk
Swedish scientists have confirmed that a diet high in fibre and low in fat appears to reduce the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women (British Journal of Cancer 90, 122-127). They found that high fibre intake by itself could lower risk by 40 percent, but that this combined with a low fat diet lowered risk even further. Last year a study found that girls with a lower fat intake during puberty may have a lower risk of breast cancer later on. This group also tended to have a higher fibre intake.

Free fruit in UK schools
The UK government has allocated £77 million in new funding for nationwide free fruit in schools programmes, as part of a larger drive to tackle the health time bomb of obesity by encouraging increased fruit and vegetable consumption. All children aged four to six in state schools in England are entitled to a free piece of fruit or vegetable each school day.

The government has also set aside £2 million for the new Food and Schools Programme, which will promote healthy-eating tuck shops, vending machines with less sugary products and improved nutritional content in packed lunches.

Where are similar initiatives coming from our government?

UK Food Industry warned to cut salt In processed products
The UK Public Health Minister has warned food retailers and manufacturers that if they do not cut salt levels in processed foods the government could force them to label foods “high in salt”. The recommended limit is 6 grams of salt per day, but adults consume, on average, around 10 grams per day.

As a result the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has developed a salt minimising framework which establishes upper levels for salt content per serving for nine categories of processed foods that are of particular concern: breakfast cereals (0.9.g), baked beans in tomato sauce (2.3g), plant-baked loaves (1.1g), breakfast cereals (0.9g), quiches (1g except for those with cured meat which have a limit of 1.5 g), pizzas (3g and those with cured meat 3.9g), ready meals (5g), sandwiches (4g), soups (2.5g),and non-concentrated cook-in sauces (2.7g).

As part of this framework, BRC members (which include supermarkets, convenience stores, department stores and industry associations, among others) are also committed to providing simplified information on salt content on food labelling.

The commitment to reduce salt content comes as the UK Consumers’ Association renewed its calls for retailers to become more involved in changing consumers' diets in a bid to reduce diet-related health problems.