Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has called for submissions on an application to permit a genetically modified rice that aims to address vitamin A deficiencies in developing countries.

FSANZ Chief Executive Officer, Mark Booth, said the International Rice Research Institute, a humanitarian organisation, applied to include the rice, often referred to as golden rice, in the Food Standards Code.

“The institute is seeking to grow the rice in developing countries to address severe vitamin A deficiency that can lead to blindness and other health issues,” Booth said.

“They are applying for permission to include it in the Code to prevent any trade issues, in the event small amounts of the rice inadvertently end up in shipments of other rice imported into Australia.”

FSANZ has conducted a safety assessment and concluded there are no public health and safety concerns by permitting the rice into the Code.

“The dietary intake assessment conservatively modelled an artificial situation in which all rice eaten in Australia was Golden Rice and concluded that this may result in a 2–13% increase in estimated intakes of β-carotene—equivalent to the amount of β-carotene from approximately 1 teaspoon or less of carrot juice.” Booth said.

Submissions close at 6pm Canberra time 14 September 2017.

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