Press Release

1. Supporting lifestyle choices that build and maintain a strong immune system; for example, increasing consumption of organic food.
2. Increasing educational programs that promote the benefits of healthy living, life skills, eating nutrient-dense food and participating in small-scale food production.

1. Calling for Government truth and transparency in all decisions, including disclosure of ALL conflicts of interest. Such information should be easily accessible to the public. 
2. Assisting consumers to understand what they are ingesting by clearly labeling all human and animal food with any GMO, irradiated and synthetic ingredients.
3. Calling for independent safety studies in all emerging technologies including, but not limited to, 5G and geoengineering to determine if there are any negative environmental and/or health impacts which could be attributed to these technologies.

1. It infringes consumer right to informed choice about the ingredients and processes used for the creation and sale of ‘food’.  Our members wish to be aware of all variations of genetic engineering involved in the production of food, even if it concerns genetic engineering processes in the food supply process.
2. It is clear from proposal P1055 that foods made using NBTs will be ultra-processed and highly refined.  Ultra Processed Foods have been scientifically linked to eight out of ten chronic diseases including obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, as well as increased risk for mortality. Many Ultra Processed Food Ingredients are triggers for allergies and illness and disease.  We are concerned that NBT foods will be even more harmful to health than UPF already are.  Not testing the safety of NBT food products, ingredients and processes involved in the production for compatibility with human biology and long term health, poses a risk to Public Health.
3. The validity of Proposal P1055 is resting on the conclusion of ‘low risk’ based on the key assumption in the safety assessment by FSANZ that NBT foods can be considered as the same low risk as conventional foods.   Within the narrow scope of ‘safety’ in the Act this may be a legally correct statement, however within the real context of the protection of the standard of public health this is a false equivalence, like saying an apple is the same as an orange because they are both fruits and grow on a tree.     A comparison of a narrow scope of not clearly defined characteristics does not tell the whole story.  As a result of the narrow scope, the actual public health outcomes and the epidemic of chronic disease relating in part to food have been completely ignored in this safety analysis by FSANZ.

• Eight in ten (81.4%) people had at least one long-term health condition
• One in two (49.9%) people had at least one chronic condition
• Mental and behavioural conditions (26.1%), back problems (15.7%), and arthritis (14.5%) were the most common chronic conditions.

1. Comprehensive analysis of 45 meta-analyses found consistent evidence linking ultra-processed foods to increased risks of conditions like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and early death. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ultra-processed-food-health-issues-cancer-early-death-research/  . https://www.bmj.com/content/385/bmj-2023-078476
2. A review of studies involving nearly 10 million people found strong links between UPF consumption and increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality, anxiety, depression, and type 2 diabetes. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/28/health/ultraprocessed-food-health-risks-study-wellness/index.html
3. Harvard study identifies processed meats, sugary breakfast foods and sweetened beverages as the ultra-processed foods most strongly associated with mortality risk. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/ultra-processed-foods-some-more-than-others-linked-to-early-death/
4. Australian study finds significant association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity, and findings support the potential role of UFP in contributing to obesity in Australia.  Ultra-processed food consumption and obesity in the Australian adult population | Nutrition & Diabetes
5. Ultra-Processed Foods linked to 10% higher mortality risk in older adults. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/eating-ultra-processed-foods-may-raise-risk-death-10