Fwd: Food Producers in China go GM-Free

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Mon, 4 Aug 2003 01:43:03 +0100

 

Food Producers in China go GM-Free

press-release

 

The Institute of Science in Society

Science Society Sustainability

http://www.i-sis.org.uk

 

General Enquiries sam

Website/Mailing List press-release

ISIS Director m.w.ho

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Food Producers in China go GM-Free

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Thirty-two food producers operating in China, the largest food market in the

world, announced their official commitment not to sell GM food. Lim Li Ching

(ching) reports.

In what amounts to the first public rejection of GM food by food producers, the

32 companies, with 53 brand names, sent formal statements to Greenpeace in July,

confirming that they do not use GM ingredients in their products sold in China.

Local companies committed to eliminating GM ingredients include large soy sauce

producers in the Southern China region, such as Pearl River Bridge, Lee Kum Kee

and Amoy, as well as a major soymilk brand, Vitasoy. Internationally known

brands such as Wyeth, Mead Johnson, Wrigley and Lipton, which already have

non-GM policies in other countries, made similar commitments for China.

Local food companies committing to non-GM products will benefit from China’s new

policy, introduced in March this year, which aims to keep production in the

largest soya production provinces in Northeast China GM-free. Soya is a food

staple in China. Not only is China the world’s fourth largest soya producer, it

is also the centre of origin for soya beans, so the impacts of GM soya on

biodiversity could be great.

While Bt cotton has been commercialised in China, the government has taken a

much more cautious approach towards GM food crops. On account of China’s huge

population, the country imports 50% of the soya consumed, mainly from the US,

Brazil and Argentina. A large portion of this is genetically engineered.

Thus, China’s labelling regulation stipulates that all products containing GM

ingredients should be labelled after July 2002. The regulation outlines the

mandatory labelling of all GMOs, including seeds, animal feed and food products

containing GMOs. Unless GMOs are labelled, their sale will be illegal. This

regulation is in line with consumers’ right to choose non-GM food.

The labelling regulation is not a stand-alone law, but part of China’s broader

framework of ‘Biosafety Regulation of GMOs in Agriculture’, originally announced

in June 2001. According to this framework, environmental releases of GMOs must

be approved by relevant authorities, and safety certification needs to be

provided for imports.

There has been some concern that the regulation is poorly enforced, as few foods

containing GM ingredients sold in China’s supermarkets or stores have been

labelled. But the Chinese government has recently stepped up its efforts on

enforcement, and emphasised that producers selling unlabelled GM products would

be penalised.

The commitment of the 32 companies to non-GM food appears in sharp contrast to

the record of Nestlé - caught selling GM products in China late last year. The

Swiss food giant came under fire for allegedly selling products containing GM

ingredients without the appropriate labelling, in contravention of domestic law.

Six products from Nestlé, including snacks, chocolate confectionery and milk

powder, were found to contain unlabelled GM ingredients.

Consumer reaction was swift. One web poll on China’s largest website

(www.sina.com) recorded 5 000 people signing up in just two days, 99% against

Nestlé’s actions. Newspapers reported Chinese consumers returning products to

Nestlé’s offices.

Consumer pressure has played a part in gradually sidelining GM foods from the

market in China. With the exception of Nestlé’s Pak Fook Fresh Soya Milk and

Beancurd Dessert, and Hong Chi’s Yung Ho Soya Milk, quantities of GM ingredients

in common foodstuffs tested by the Consumer Council were substantially lower

than those in a similar test three years ago. Out of 26 products sampled, 12

contained GM soya. Less than 0.1% of GM soya was found in tofu, beancurd dessert

and soya milk samples, while soya infant formula samples contained between 0.1

and 0.2%. No GM maize or GM potato varieties were detected in any of the

samples. Tests three years earlier had shown GM soya levels of between 10 and

30% and GM maize of up to 9%.

Public awareness on GM foods is set to further increase due to a lawsuit filed

in Shanghai against Shanghai Nestlé Co. and Shanghai Lianjia Supermarket Co. for

producing and selling GM food without informing customers. Private citizen Zhu

Yanling is asking the local court that has agreed to hear the case, to order

Nestlé to label its Nesquik brand instant chocolate drink as a GM food and is

seeking 13.6 yuan (US$1.64) in compensation - twice the amount she spent on the

drink.

According to a survey conducted by Zhongshan University in December 2002, 87% of

the respondents demand labelling of GM products and 56% would choose non-GM food

over GM food if given the choice. The results also indicated that some 44% of

consumers would choose a non-GM product even if it cost 10% more than a GM

counterpart. The survey was conducted among 1 000 citizens of the southern

Chinese city of Guangzhou.

GM-free moves are also being made at the local level. Recently, Heilongjiang

province, responsible for 80% of soya exports from China, declared a policy to

keep the province free from GM soya. In the neighbouring province of Liaoning,

the provincial government demanded non-GM soya milk for school children.

 

Sources

" Nestlé slammed for selling unlabelled GM food " , 2 December 2002, just-food.com,

http://just-food.com/news_detail.asp?art=52511 & app=1 & c=1

" Genetically Engineered Food Snubbed by Consumers in Guangzhou " , Greenpeace

China, Media Release, 17 January 2003,

http://www.greenpeace-china.org.hk/eng/gm_news_item.adp?id=402

" Chinese public 'cautious over GM food' " , by Jia Hepeng, 23 January 2003,

SciDevNet, http://www.scidev.net

" Consumers push GM food off shelves " , by Heike Phillips, South China Morning

Post, 17 June 2003.

" Companies in China clear genetically engineered food off their shelves: Non-GE

policy becoming strong trend in the word’s largest food market " , Greenpeace, 18

July 2003.

" GM food fight to heat up in China " , English.eastday.com, compiled by Shanghai

Daily news,

http://english.eastday.com/epublish/gb/paper1/978/class000100022/hwz151113.htm

 

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General Enquiries sam

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ISIS Director m.w.ho

 

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