Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) - Call for comment on food derived from a GM corn line

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is calling for submissions on an application to permit the sale and use of food derived from a genetically modified (GM) corn line. Submissions close at 6pm (AEDT) 30 April 2024.

Corn line MON94804 has been genetically modified to reduce the plant’s overall height. This potentially provides higher yields, due to improved access for farming equipment and reduced risk of crop losses from high winds and adverse weather.

″If approved, food from this type of GM corn could be imported into Australia and New Zealand via products including starch, grits, meal, flour, oil and sweetener," FSANZ CEO Dr Sandra Cuthbert said.

″Our safety assessment focused on human food safety and nutritional issues and found food derived from MON94804 is considered to be as safe for human consumption as food made from conventional non-GM corn cultivars.″

To help people make informed choices, food made from this corn would need to be labelled as 'genetically modified' if novel DNA and/or novel proteins were contained in the final food.

FSANZ's approval would not permit the GM corn to be grown in Australia or New Zealand. Its cultivation would require separate regulatory assessment and approval by the Gene Technology Regulator in Australia and the Environmental Protection Authority in New Zealand.

Read the call for submissions and assessment documents: A1287 - Food derived from short-stature corn line MON94804