"New Zealand is not proceeding immediately to gazette the amendment to the genetic modification standard in the joint Food Standards Code for food derived from high lysine corn (LY038)," Food Safety Minister Annette King said.

The corn - engineered to add weight to pigs and poultry - was approved for humans by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) because the Monsanto biotech company expects it to turn up in corn-based foods.

New Zealand scientists said there was concern the high levels of the amino acid lysine in LY038 corn may trigger diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer and diabetes, and questioned the FSANZ decision to compare it with another GE corn, rather than a conventional corn with a good safety record.

Mrs King has asked the New Zealand Food Safety Authority, to provide her with more advice as to the "appropriateness" for New Zealand to accept amendments for varieties intended for use as animal feed under the trans-Tasman agreement on joint food standards.

GM Food Production: A Brave New World?

>>Not so long ago it seemed asthough a genetic utopia was about to blossom across the globe. We were promised cheaper tastier food with replicated quality assured over and over again. The consumer backlash that followed came with collective boycotts previously unseen and forced the movement to a virtual halt, but what was the source of this fear? Get a better scope of the GM debate, by clicking on our previous news items listed below.