Is present legislation adequate to ensure safety? These are legitimate concerns in the minds of many consumers.

The Directorate: Food Control of the Department of Health, as member of the Executive Council for Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in terms of the GMO Act, 1997 (Act No. 15 of 1997) has a specific responsibility to ensure food safety. The Directorate feels confident that foodstuffs developed from genetically modified crops (GM-foods) approved in South Africa (maize, cotton, soybeans) are as safe as their conventional counterparts.

1. To give perspective on GM-food safety a number of questions are answered, taking into account:
2. The guidance from international bodies such as the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO);
3. The existence of government strategies, legislation and structures that oversee food safety issues;
4. Existence of scientific data; and
5. Issues that are often expressed in the media as consumer concerns.

Acrylamide is a chemical that is used to make polyacrylamide materials. Polyacrylamide is used in the treatment of drinking-water and waste water where it is used to remove particles and other impurities (see Question 15). It is also used to make glues, paper and cosmetics. Polyacrylamide materials contain very small amounts of acrylamide.

Acrylamide is also used in the construction of dam foundations and tunnels, and appears to be produced in some foods prepared at high temperatures.