WE WANT
YOU!
Food Standards Australia New
Zealand is after your comments
on how to handle new genetic
food applications not currently
covered by law. University of
Otago/Genomics Aotearoa’s
Professor Peter Dearden says
discussion is important.
In the past few years a range of novel technologies,
many based on a technology called CRISPR/
cas9 gene editing, have been developed.
Many of these technologies challenge the only
way we have thought about transgenic organisms
(GM organisms), because they can change the
DNA of an organism, rather than inserting a new
piece of DNA. This technology mirrors somewhat
mutagenesis, a technology that produced all of
the plants of the ‘green revolution’, for example.
Mutagenesis involves making lots of mutation in
This technology
mirrors somewhat
mutagenesis, a
technology that
produced all of
the plants of the
‘green revolution’
an organism’s DNA and then selecting those that
have a useful outcome. Gene editing is less scattergun,
but a reasonably precise way to make the
mutation that you want. This falls between the old
technologies of mutagenesis, and the newer ones
(though now outdated) of transgenesis. These
technologies do use a lab manipulation to change
the DNA, but they don’t involve the insertion of
a piece of DNA from another organism. FSANZ
is investigating what people think about the
outcomes of these new technologies, and a few
more specific ones that have similar effects. This
is incredibly timely, as products made with gene
editing are already being developed overseas,
and detecting gene edited organism is much
harder than detecting a transgenic one. These
new technologies have enormous potential but
getting their regulation wrong may, on one hand,
stifle innovation and on the other cause disquiet
about risk. I applaud FSANZ for asking questions
about these technologies, and am impressed by
the thoughtful, knowledgeable and effective ways
it has presented the information.
BOOK REVIEW
THE AUSTRALIAN
HEALTHY HORMONE DIET
By Michele Chevalley Hedge and
Jennifer Fleming (Macmillan
Publishers NZ, $39.99, available now)
Any woman will tell you that hormones
definitely play a part in mood, weight and
energy. But do they play a crucial role in
our most vital bodily functions? Australian
nutritionist Chevalley Hedge says yes, after
treating heaps of patients with busy lifestyles
that leave them depleted and burnt out.
“When did life get this exhausting?” she asks.
“You leave the office but work continues,
courtesy of your phone. You’re tricked into
spending too much time with it. You grab
it. Time stops. Tap the screen. Punch out an
email. Send a text. Check the internet, news,
social media. Oh, wait, what’s this? Hello,
multi-tasking. Frantic families ferry children
through congested cities for netball, piano
lessons, or taekwondo. You spend time with
aging parents. You try to stay connected with
busy friends. But what about you?” Sound
familiar? Chevalley Hedge says it’s easy
to fall into hormone chaos with processed
sugary foods, poor sleep patterns, bad gut
bacteria, stress and exposure to pollution
and chemicals used in plastics, cosmetics
and cleaning products. She knows what
it’s like to be busy – a marketing manager
with three children and a husband that
travels for work – and says she often feels
“puffy, with a head full of cotton wool and
negative self-talk." Every week, my weight
fluctuated by one to three kilograms and was
slowly climbing. Clothes in my wardrobe
ranged from size 8 to size 16 – and I’m not
exaggerating. My digestion was backed up.
I was sleeping fewer than seven hours a
night and this showed in my skin, mood and
weight. I gave a good impression of being on
top of things, but inside I was a ball of anxiety
and negativity.” What Chevalley Hedge has
done with this book is provide a four-week
plan encompassing nutritional and lifestyle
changes to help get your life – and your
hormones – back on track.
Abigail Zeng of Energy Management
Solutions has won this book.
www.foodtechnology.co.nz 15
WE WANT YOU: If you have some thoughts on the questions that FSANZ is asking, you can go to
its website before April 12 to have your say. The current code only covers food produced by genetic
techniques that add DNA into a genome, and doesn’t cover newer gene-editing techniques like
CRISPR/Cas9 which knock out genes or proteins, or others that don’t change the DNA of the final
food product. FSANZ is asking for submissions on how these newer techniques should be assessed
before they go to market. Options range from treating them like conventional breeding techniques -
given a green light once a technique has been proved safe - or to be treated like current genetically
modified organisms which would mean that each application requires a rigorous safety assessment.
New breeding techniques refer to a variety of new approaches in plant and animal breeding that
were not in use when Standard 1.5.2 – food produced using gene technology – was first developed
nearly 20 years ago. “We are consulting with the community to consider whether and how food
derived from NBTs should be captured for pre-market approval under Standard 1.5.2 and whether
the definitions for ‘food produced using gene technology’ and ‘gene technology’ in Standard 1.1.2 –
2 should be changed to improve clarity about which foods require pre-market approval.”
/www.foodtechnology.co.nz
