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Response to Independent Herald article ‘How safe is your food’ (25 October ’05)

28 October ‘05

Madam,

Readers of your story (How safe is our food, 25 October) can be assured that food sold in New Zealand, whether produced here or imported, is among the safest in the world. The story contains many inaccuracies that have been addressed many times by both us (the New Zealand Food Safety Authority) and other national food safety agencies throughout the world.

While nothing in life can ever be guaranteed 100% safe, New Zealand food is of an exceptional standard. We are accepted world-wide as a trusted producer of safe food with more than 80% of what we produce exported to some of the most discerning consumers (and their demanding regulators) in the world. We can confidently claim it is indeed among the safest in the world.

Before addressing some of the specific issues raised, I would stress that the New Zealand Food Safety Authority was set up in 2002 with just one purpose – to protect consumers, both in New Zealand and in our trading partner countries. Our role is to ensure that food sold in New Zealand is safe and that our vital reputation as a producer and exporter of safe food is enhanced. We have no agenda, nor axes to grind, and our comments are provided to help reassure consumers about what really is in their food and what it all means.

Alison White has either misused or misunderstood the results of NZFSA’s surveillance and monitoring programmes despite the truth being evident from both the full reports themselves, and the Q&As and other material NZFSA makes freely available on its website.

None of our testing has found any issue with the level of pesticide residues in any sample of bread. She is wrong when she says our testing found residues in 94% of bread samples. We found them in 100% of the samples tested for the 2003/04 Total Diet Survey due to the fact that pesticides are used in the growing and storage of wheat. This is necessary to prevent the very high risks associated with the growth of weevils, moulds and other pests. These natural pests and the toxins some produce have been associated with serious and occasionally fatal illness internationally. The chemicals used reduce this high risk – without posing any significant risk to human health at the levels we found. In other words, the use of chemicals removes a very real risk, replacing it with one that is insignificant and probably non-existent. As all New Zealand grain is usually sourced from a limited number of suppliers, it would be expected that a consistent level of residue would be found around the country. None of the samples we tested contravened our regulatory requirements – which are many many times below the levels where there are any safety issues.

The levels of organophosphates in the New Zealand diet are among the lowest in the world and are a fraction of the acceptable daily intake. There is no adverse health effect associated with them, just as is the case for pesticide residues in vegetables and fruit. The same would be true of Ms White’s ‘salad’, unless she makes salad from some other type of food.

Most food colourings, and many other food additives, are categorised as ‘generally regarded as safe’ (GRAS). Examples of GRAS compounds include water and sugar. Many food colourings and additives are derived from natural plant products (some of them foods), and many others are merely natural compounds reproduced by man. They are chemically identical.

These GRAS compounds have had very little research into their effects. The ones that Ms White is concerned about have been far more researched and proven safe over numerous studies over many years in many countries. There are more carcinogens and other ‘dangerous’ chemicals in one cup of coffee than most consumers would get in a week of eating foods with additives and colourings.

Aspartame is not the subject of huge controversy. Both the highly respected UK Food Standards Agency and the European Commission’s Scientific Commission on Food have recently conducted extensive studies on aspartame and concluded that aspartame is safe. This view is also held by the US Food and Drug Administration as a quick check of their websites will show.

To answer Ms White’s question, ‘How safe is our food’ – our extensive surveillance and monitoring programmes show that in New Zealand the answer is ‘very’.

Sandra Daly

Acting Executive Director

New Zealand Food Safety Authority