May 17, 2000 / Blomberg / Tansy Harcourt
Sydney -- Australian and New Zealand health ministers are, according to this story, preparing to rule on mandatory labeling of genetically modified food, as a survey showed consumers want to know what they are eating.
ACNielsen Corp was cited as finding that 90 percent of Australian consumers surveyed during April believed genetically modified food should be labeled.
The survey involved a sample of 950 people.
"Farmers, manufactures and marketers of GM good need to tread with great care in order to court public opinion," said Charlie Nelson, director of AC Nielsen futures unit.
Australia and New Zealand are expected in July to rule on whether foods made from genetically modified crops should be labeled. The health ministers, meeting as the Australian and New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) were expected to make the ruling last Friday, though a lack of unity on the issue caused the decision to be delayed.
Consumer resistance to genetically modified foods is strong in Australia, as well as the nation's key export markets of the E.U. and Japan.
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture said in August it would require genetically modified food to be labeled from April 2001.
In the U.S., labels are currently only required when there is a safety question or when nutritional values have been altered. Still, new guidelines for labeling will be released to the U.S. public for comment during the northern hemisphere autumn.
Australia does not currently produce genetically modified food crops, though trials are underway across the country on crops such as canola.
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