The Law and Safety of Genetically Modified Food

Abstract

This paper deals with several legal issues regarding the safety of genetically modified food. The first issue the paper considers is whether the current safety assessment methods used by Food Standards Australia New Zealand are sufficient to protect consumers from possible hazards originating from the consumption of genetically modified foods. It argues that the current methods are state of the art and comply with international standards. The comparison with the European Union shows that the safety standards are not only sufficient, but are on a high standard. The paper goes on to analyse the theoretical case of whether companies, which have developed hazardous genetically modified food, can be held liable for harm caused by this food. The current statutory provisions regarding liability and redress are not far reaching enough since it is too difficult for harmed consumers to claim damages. To give consumers the chance to decide for themselves whether they want to purchase genetically modified foods or to avoid them, it is important that genetically modified foods are thoroughly labelled. This paper argues for an improvement of the labelling standards. Besides telling consumers that the food product contains genetically modified ingredients, labels should inform consumers about possible hazards.