Safety concerns keep E. Asia consumers off GMO food

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Subject:GMW: Safety concerns keep E. Asia consumers off GMO food

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Wed, 9 Mar 2005 10:47:41 GMT

 

 

 

 

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Safety concerns keep E. Asia consumers off GMO food

 

EXCERPTS: Nine years after the debut of genetically modified organisms

in the world market, consumers in East Asia are still worried about

eating GMO food...

 

Takashi Oaki, secretary general of the Japan Oil & Fat Importers &

Exporters Association, was quoted as saying, " Food processors do not use

GMO crops for products that are subject to labelling requirements. I

don't think this stance will change in the future. "

 

Oaki was urther cited as noting that if China becomes the first country

to introduce GMO rice, " China's move could rekindle public concerns as

Japanese have special feelings about rice -- their staple food. "

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Safety concerns keep E. Asia consumers off GMO food

Aya Takada and Cho Mee-young

Reuters, March 8, 2005 [via Agnet]

 

TOKYO/SEOUL - Nine years after the debut of genetically modified

organisms (GMOs) in the world market, consumers in East Asia are,

according

to this story, still worried about eating GMO food, although the region

uses grain from such crops for feed.

 

Takashi Oaki, secretary general of the Japan Oil & Fat Importers &

Exporters Association, was quoted as saying, " Food processors do not use

GMO crops for products that are subject to labelling requirements. I

don't think this stance will change in the future. "

 

The story notes that the Japanese government has approved for human

consumption 59 GMO varieties for six crops -- potatoes, soybeans, sugar

beet, corn, rapeseed and cotton. Oaki was urther cited as noting that if

China becomes the first country to introduce GMO rice, " China's move

could rekindle public concerns as Japanese have special feelings about

rice -- their staple food. "

 

Japan has also been developing GMO rice varieties and is trying to turn

consumer sentiment in favour of the products. Kyoko Saito, director of

the Agriculture Ministry's biotechnology safety division, was quoted as

saying, " Many people are concerned about GMO safety because they don't

know much about it. We will step up efforts to explain

how useful the technology is. "

 

Kim Ja-hei, executive director of the Citizens Alliance for Consumer

Protection of Korea, was quoted as saying, " It is not certain that GMO

crops produced for feed are safe for people to eat. "

 

Under Japanese law, food made from GMO crops must be labelled to help

consumers make an informed choice. But products in which DNA or protein

resulting from gene alteration cannot be detected using existing

technologies, such as cooking oil, are exempted.

 

South Korea requires labelling for GMO beans, bean sprouts, corn and

potatoes, and also for food for human consumption processed from these

commodities. It plans to expand the regulation to cover all living

organisms imported for human consumption this year, in line with global

regulations.

 

 

 

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