Before the establishment of ERMA New Zealand the assessment work for genetically modified organisms was carried out by two committees administered by the Ministry for the Environment.
The Advisory Committee on Novel Genetic Techniques (ACNGT) was responsible for contained laboratory and glasshouse genetic manipulation work. The Interim Assessment Group (IAG) for the Field Testing and Release of Genetically Modified Organisms assessed all applications to field test GMOs or perform large scale fermentations involving GMOs.
The IAG dealt with 60 applications in total.
Information on the approvals completed prior to the establishment of ERMA New Zealand can be found below.
| Application Code | Organisation | Organism | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IAG 1 | Ministry for Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) | Aujeszky virus | 1988 | Did not proceed . Live attenuated vaccine for Aujeszkys disease. |
| IAG 2 | Dept. of Scientific & Industrial Resources (DSIR) | Potato | 1988 | Field testing of Kanamycin resistant potatoes. |
| IAG 3 | DSIR | Potato | 1988 | Field testing of Hygromycin resistant potatoes. |
| IAG 4 | DSIR | Potato | 1988 | Field testing of Chlorsulfuron resistant potatoes. |
| IAG 5 | DSIR | Asparagus | 1988 | Field testing of Kanamycin resistant asparagus. |
| IAG 6 | Not known | Oryctes baculovirus | 1988 | Oryctes baculovirus for export. |
| IAG 7 | Canterbury University - Crop Research | Potato | 1988 | Thaumatin potatoes taste test. |
| IAG 8 | Canterbury University - Crop Research | Potato | 1989 | Thaumatin potatoes glasshouse trial. |
| IAG 9 | Coopers Animal Health | Escherichia coli | 1989 | Large scale fermentation of E. coli to produce a sheep vaccine against sheep measles. |
| IAG 10 | Not known | Mice | 1989 | Transportation of gm mice. |
| IAG 11 | Not known | Sheep | 1989 | Not approved . Spermatozoa vector for GM sheep. |
| IAG 12 | DSIR | Potato | 1989 | Field testing Kanamycin resistant potatoes. |
| IAG 13 | DSIR | Potato | 1989 | Field testing of Chlorsulfuron resistant potatoes. |
| IAG 14 | DSIR | Potato | 1989 | Field testing of Chlorsulfuron resistant potatoes scale up. |
| IAG 15 | Not known | Potato | 1989 | Not approved . Virus X resistant potatoes. |
| IAG 16 | DSIR | Potato | 1989 | Field testing of potatoes for thaumatin production. |
| IAG 17 | Not known | Petunia | 1989 | Not approved . Kanamycin resistant petunias. |
| IAG 18 | Not known | Not known | 1989 | Not approved . Glasshouse testing of ornamental A. |
| IAG 19 | Not known | Not known | 1989 | Not approved . Glasshouse testing of ornamental B. |
| IAG 20 | DSIR | Escherichia coli | 1989 | Large scale fermantation for production of the 18kD antigen of Mycobacterium leprae for vaccine. |
| IAG 21 | DSIR | Broccoli | 1989 | Field testing of broccoli resistant to atrazine. |
| IAG 22 | DSIR | Escherichia coli | 1990 | Did not proceed . Large scale fermentation for production of enzyme (B-glucosidase). |
| IAG 23 | DSIR | Potato | 1990 | Field testing of potatoes resistant to virus Y. |
| IAG 24 | DSIR - Crop Research | Potato | 1990 | Field testing of Chlorosulfuron resistant potatoes. |
| IAG 25 | DSIR | Kiwifruit | 1991 | Field testing of GM kiwifruit plants. |
| IAG 26 | Not known | Kale & Rape | 1991 | Not approved . Field testing of GM kale and rape plants. |
| IAG 27 | Lincoln University | Sheep | 1992 | Field test for progeny testing of an additional gene either for a marker enzyme or for a growth factor. |
| IAG 28 | Crop & Food Reseach | Potato | 1992 | Field testing of virus Y resistant potatoes. |
| IAG 29 | Corson Grain Ltd | Maize | 1992 | Field testing of imported GM maize for resistance to European Corn Borer and the herbicide "Buster". |
| IAG 30 | Corson Grain Ltd | Maize | 1993 | Field testing of imported GM maize for resistance to European Corn Borer and the herbicide "Buster". |
| IAG 31 | USA/Genzyme Corporation | Goat | 1993 | Field test for human protein production in milk / cyctic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. |
| IAG 32 | USA/Genzyme Corporation | Goat | 1993 | Field test for human protein production in milk / cyctic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. |
| IAG 33 | Crop & Food Reseach | Potato | 1993 | Field testing of virus y resistant potatoes. |
| IAG 34 | Not known | Sheep | 1994 | Not approved . Transgenic sheep for hAAT production. |
| IAG 36 | Lincoln University | Sheep | 1995 | Field test for progeny testing of an additional gene either for a marker enzyme or for a growth factor (continuation of IAG 27). |
| IAG 37 | University of Otago | Baccillus Calmett-Gue 'rin | 1995 | Develop an improved vaccine against bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacteria bovis). |
| IAG 41 | Crop & Food Research | Broccoli | 1996 | Field test of transgenic brassicas - marker and reporter genes. |