Coles and top food companies reject genetically engineered canola

Leading supermarket brands Coles, Aldi and IGA Metcash (4), top users of canola oil Goodman Fielder, Unilever and Peerless foods (5), and some of the biggest consumer food brands including Kellogs, Heinz, Arnott’s, Carman’s Fine Foods, King Island Dairy and Lilydale, are now listed as “green” in the True Food Guide and will “actively avoid ingredients from GE crops”. This major industry rejection comes at a time when Australia’s first genetically engineered canola is being harvested in New South Wales and Victoria.

Launching the True Food Guide Canola Edition, Margaret Fulton said, “This is the first time so many food brands have pledged their commitment to use only natural non-GE produce. It is so reassuring to see how far we have come from the launch of the first True Food Guide in 2002. It is fantastic that GE-free shopping can now be easy and affordable.”
 
Jackie Healing, Coles Quality Manager said, "Coles developed its current range of house brands to exclude genetically modified ingredients after we recognised our customers’ concerns about the technology and its use in the food they purchase from us."
 
The wallet-sized GE-free shopping guide also provides information about food products which “may allow GE ingredients” to help consumers make an informed choice. Shoppers will be able to avoid buying products and brands in the “red” which include Nestle, Cadbury, Kraft, Mars, Leggo’s, Uncle Toby’s, Weight Watchers and Woolworths own brands.
 
Greenpeace genetic engineering campaigner Michelle Sheather said, “The timely and positive response from a majority of the food industry means that although GE canola will enter our food chain unlabelled (7), we can still avoid eating GE food. This should send a clear message to our food regulator and the government that there is no future in GE food; we need to keep GE food and crops out of Australia.”

Chefs, mothers, scientists nutritionists and leading groups, including the Public Health Association of Australia, have joined Greenpeace in asking for labelling of all GE food - including oils and products from animals (milk eggs, meat, honey) fed on GE feed. They are also calling for independent safety assessment of GE food crops. Concerned Australians can voice their concern by signing the petition to the Health Minister, Nicola Roxon at: http://www.truefood.org.au/OurRightToKnow/