WA govt seeks to up GM tolerance

The West Australian government is seeking to change guidelines for organic food certification to allow a certain amount of genetically modified material.

An ABC Rural revealed the state's Department of Agriculture and Food has made its first submission on GM tolerance to the Organic Industry Standards and Certification Council.

In the WA parliament on Tuesday, agriculture minister Ken Baston said a 0.9 per cent tolerance level is being sought in line with the European Union's organic threshold.

Currently, there is zero tolerance in Australia for the presence of GM material in certified organic foods.

Mr Baston said the department's submission supported "the coexistence principle to allow for organic, conventional and genetically modified production systems within a farming property".

The submission follows a landmark WA Supreme Court ruling about GM contamination in May.

Kojonup organic famer Steve Marsh unsuccessfully tried to sue former friend Michael Baxter, alleging he lost organic certification for more than half his farm after GM canola drifted onto his land from Mr Baxter's property.

Mr Marsh, who is being represented pro bono by Slater & Gordon, is still deciding whether to appeal the decision.