Nutrition, food and the consensus of Chinese producers.

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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

Food producers in China go GM-Free

******************************

 

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?=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/hwz15

1113.htm

 

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