Health dept seeks advice on GMOs

The federal health department is seeking advice on a strategy to deal with genetically modified organisms which get into Australia without approval.

To date, Australia has not had what is known as a "low-level presence" (LLP) incident which could, for example, involve an unapproved GMO getting into the country in a batch of imported seed.

But the health department has released a tender for a strategy to deal with such a breach.

The advice will help the department's Office of the Gene Technology Regulator plan what needs to happen in the case of this occurring.

There are concerns that LLP incidents could rise in coming years as countries such as China and India move to commercialise new genetically modified crops and unapproved organisms get mixed up with imported shipments.