1.Six Greenpeace campaigners arrested in baby formula protest
2.Unlabelled GM residues in infant formula
3.Parents unaware of baby food ingredients
TAKE ACTION: Australian parents' right to know: label GM now! https://www.greenpeace.org.au/issues/GE/?src=em
EXTRACT: "I reckon most mums are going to hit the roof when they find out how they've been hoodwinked with this stuff. Our main issue with this is that we think parents have a right to know, and companies are exploiting the labelling laws in Australia. Transnational companies such as Pfizer and others love Australia, because we've got labelling laws you can drive a truck through, which is great for their bottom line and bad for our babies." (item 3)
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1.Six Greenpeace campaigners arrested in baby formula protest
Pawan Shukla
Top News, September 27 2010
http://topnews.com.sg/content/25075-six-greenpeace-campaigners-arrested-baby-formula-protest
Six female Greenpeace campaigners were arrested after they were found trespassing while staging a supermarket protest in Sydney's north today. They were campaigning over a baby formula which they say may be harmful for babies.
The six were a part of a 15-strong group who staged the sit-down inside a Neutral Bay Woolworths at around 10am. They sat in front of the S-26 baby formula, made by the Pfizer-owned company Wyeth Nutrition, which contains genetically modified (GM) ingredients.
Another protest was held by Greenpeace at a Coles store in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy.
The six women, informed the police, were aged between 20 and 30 years and were expected to be charged with trespassing today.
A police spokeswoman said, "Police spoke with the [Woolworths store] manager and then commenced negotiations with the group. They [the campaigners] left the store and then without warning went back inside."
The women refused to leave so the manager again spoke to the officers and the women were arrested a short tome later when they refused to leave.
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2.Unlabelled GM residues in infant formula
MADGE, 27 September 2010
http://www.madge.org.au/Docs/gm-in-infant-formula.pdf
*EFSA says Medical Doctors should be informed
Yesterday it was reported that three separate testing laboratories had found unlabelled GM soy
and corn residues in soy infant formula, two on the submission of Greenpeace, and one on the
submission of material by Channel 7's Sunday Night show.
Greenpeace provided MADGE with results from tests on two of the formulas (S”26 and Karicare) that pinpointed the GM crops from which the residues came.
MADGE's Madeleine Love said "There are known risks associated with GM crops, and we demand the right to avoid them. We need to know what is in the food we feed our babies."
"According to a very recent European Food Safety Authority Opinion, the tiniest pieces of foreign DNA, more reminiscent of bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic DNA could act as potent adjuvants for the priming of immunological response to ordinary food proteins."
"This sort of DNA appears to be in the GM crops of which residues were found in infant formula, and parents must have the right to avoid it."
"The Opinion even said that the very minimal testing conducted within the laboratories of the GM crop developers was completely inappropriate for infant digestive systems."
"These crops have been released on a 'safe until proven unsafe' basis, and in respect of the clinical aspects of food allergy the EFSA Opinion concluded a need to 'inform medical doctors and consumers of the presence of GM- and non GM products, so that case reports can be specifically related to either category of food that has been consumed.'
"GM crop residues have to be fully labeled, and if this can't be managed, products that could potentially contain GM residues should be off the supermarket shelves."
MADGE would like to know whether GM material from food eaten by a mother could sensitise a baby in”utero, or passes through breastmilk. There seem to be no studies looking at this.
Contact:
Madeleine Love 0447 762 284
Frances Murrell 0401 407 944
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3.Parents unaware of baby food ingredients
CAROLINE MARCUS
The Sunday Telegraph, September 26 2010
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/parents-unaware-of-baby-food-ingredients/story-e6freuy9-1225929378765
GENETICALLY modified baby formula is being sold in Australia without warning labels.Health authorities have effectively given baby-food manufacturers the green light to include the contentious ingredients in their products.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that tests of one of the most popular baby formulas on the market - S-26 Soy - show it contains genetically altered ingredients.Authorities say the product, made by the Pfizer-owned company Wyeth Nutrition, is safe to sell without labels revealing its GM levels, despite an absence of research on their long-term effects on infants.
S-26 Soy, often given to babies with lactose intolerance or those on vegetarian diets, returned positive results for GM in three recent tests.
Researchers found up to 0.2 per cent of GM soy and corn in the product, which is recommended for newborns up to infants older than 12 months.
A federal Health Department spokeswoman said the S-26 formula met regulatory requirements and was approved for sale in Australia.
Labelling laws allow a one per cent "unintentional" presence of GM, and a maker will not be prosecuted if it can prove it ordered non-GM foods from suppliers.
This is the 10th time since 1998 that S-26 Soy has tested positive in international tests for GM.
Greenpeace Australia, which conducted two recent tests - a third was carried out by Channel Seven's Sunday Night program, which will air the results tonight - has urged the Government to take S-26 Soy off the shelves and force manufacturers to label all products containing GM foods.There have been no long-term studies on adults, let alone babies, of the health effects of eating GM foods.
But an ongoing Russian study had found they could damage liver, kidney and reproductive function in rats and hamsters and make them grow hair on their tongues, Greenpeace spokeswoman Julie Macken said.
"I reckon most mums are going to hit the roof when they find out how they've been hoodwinked with this stuff," she said. "Our main issue with this is that we think parents have a right to know, and companies are exploiting the labelling laws in Australia.
"Transnational companies such as Pfizer and others love Australia, because we've got labelling laws you can drive a truck through, which is great for their bottom line and bad for our babies."
Wyeth Nutrition issued a statement last week, stating: "Wyeth Nutrition takes the quality and safety of its products very seriously.
"We are concerned by the allegations made by Greenpeace regarding S-26 Soy and have contacted the organisation to request a copy of the test results in question.
"Wyeth Nutrition would welcome the opportunity to work with Greenpeace and relevant authorities to address the matter in detail."
Wyeth spokeswoman Yvonne Bowyer said it was not unusual to find traces of genetically modified substances in products containing soy because of the way the crop was grown.
Food labelling laws, including issues surrounding genetically manufactured products, are being reviewed by a Federal Government panel.