DIR 199

Queensland University of Technology

Banana

Disease resistance (resistance to Fusarium wilt tropical race 4 (TR4))

The licence allows Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to commercially cultivate GM banana plants modified for resistance to the fungal disease Fusarium wilt tropical race 4 (TR4), also known as Panama disease.

The GM banana plants may be grown in all banana growing areas in Australia, subject to restrictions in some Australian States and Territories for marketing reasons. Commercial banana production occurs mainly in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The licence holder has indicated they do not intend the GM banana plants to replace the current Cavendish banana cultivars growing in Australia but rather to provide a safety net to the Australian banana industry should it be heavily impacted by Panama disease.

The Regulator has not imposed any specific measures to manage risk, as the risk assessment concluded that this release of GM banana plants poses negligible risk to the health and safety of people or the environment. General conditions have been imposed to ensure that there is ongoing oversight of the release.

The risk analysis for this application was carried out in accordance with the Regulator’s Risk Analysis Framework.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is a statutory agency responsible for maintaining the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. FSANZ has approved this GM banana for sale as a food in Australia and New Zealand. The GM bananas and any derived food products are subject to mandatory GM labelling. More information is available on the FSANZ website.

You can find out more about the biology of banana and how it is farmed in Australia in the biology document.