Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:611;Page:8388] 
2.  
SUE KEDGLEY (Green) 
 to the  
Minister for Food Safety 
: Was Geoff Allen from the New Zealand Food Safety Authority correct when he said on radio in respect of soy infant formula that was tested for GM contamination that “all soy formula were tested and all four were positive”? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Associate Minister of Health) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister for Food Safety 
: Yes. 
Sue Kedgley 
: If all four of the soy infant formulas on sale in New Zealand tested positive are we correct in assuming that all four brands of soy listed on the Ministry of Health manufactured food database were contaminated with GM soy namely Karicare Soya 1 Karicare Starter Formula Infasoy and Infasoy Progress; if not why not? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I am not familiar with the brands the member refers to but I can say that there are 20 GM organism products approved for release and consumption in this country and that they are among the 20 that have been approved. 
Dave Hereora 
: Has the Minister seen comments that the GM labelling regime is woefully inadequate? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Yes I have seen the comments made by the member asking the primary question and I do not agree with them. Even though she has been told time and time again the member continually fails to acknowledge that the current labelling regime introduced by Food Standards Australia New Zealand in 2000 was a world first. She further fails to acknowledge that it is currently being reviewed. We have the best labelling regime in the world. 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: Will the Minister confirm that it is not the possible GE contamination in soy infant formula that creates a documented risk but the phytoestrogens in the soy itself and given the recognition of that risk by the recent British Committee on Toxicity report why is our Government not making those soy-based infant formulas prescription-only rather than letting them be sold off supermarket shelves? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I cannot answer the technical aspects of the member’s question. However I am surprised being a former dairy farmer that the organisations and businesses that promote soy the most are health food shops. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Why does the Minister not know the names of the baby-food products that tested positive for GE given that it was her agency that undertook the tests several weeks ago and she has only to pick up the phone to find them out; and given that taxpayers paid for the tests why do we not have the right to know the results of tests we have paid for? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: In regard to the names like many other surveillance and audit samples taken every week by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority across many products those tests are aimed at ensuring compliance with the law. Where compliance is confirmed because GM organism presence is approved—as is the case in this situation—no further action is taken and the names of the products are therefore not reported to her. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Does the Minister not have a moral if not legal obligation to tell consumers what foods GE has been found in given the current consumer concern about GE food and the fact that it has never been tested on babies or other humans or for its long-term health effects and that credible scientific bodies such as the UK Royal Society have expressed severe reservations about the safety of GE infant food; if not why not? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: We have had 20 approved GM organisms in this country since 1998. I am not aware of any death or illness from the consumption of those products.