In the same investigation, it is found that one
sample, Chung Hua Tofu, a Taiwan
imported from PARKnSHOP,
does not indicate it contains GE ingredients on its package label. The same product selling at city’super, however, indicates its GE
ingredients on the original Taiwan
package label as it adheres with Taiwan legislation. The discrepancy raises concerns of identical
product being labelled differently.
“Food suppliers gain precisely over the
voluntary nature of the labelling system as the absence of any restrictive legislation monitoring GE
foods gives them a free hand labelling identical products differently on
purpose. This indicates the consumer
rights in Hong Kong have been greatly ignored.” Food Safety Campaigner of
Greenpeace Chow Yuen Ping commented.
The voluntary labelling system for GE foods was
implemented in Hong Kong since July 2006 with its year run ending last
year. The Food and Environmental Hygiene
Department has been conducting a review of the system for over 7 months. The report on the review is withheld from the
public. FEHD seems keen on withholding
it further as the results could lean towards a failed system. In July 2007, Greenpeace also conducted an
investigation into pre-packaged food labelling, GM food testing, as well as an
overview of international practices of GM food monitoring (For details, please
refer to the Greenpeace’s Review on the
Effectiveness of the One-year Implementation of Voluntary Labelling System for
GE Foods).
Greenpeace has examined 894
food packages available on the market and found none of them labelled as GE
food. 25
samples are, on the contrary, found with negative labelling, a practice
discouraged by the government. These
figures also indicate that the voluntary labelling system is a fiasco. Consumers are confused as manufacturers using
GE ingredients are reluctant to disclose the related information, whereas those
that do not are largely relying on negative labelling.
Greenpeace, on the
other hand, has conducted a specific examination of GE ingredients in high risk
soy products. The results showed all 7
tofu samples bought from supermarkets contained GE ingredients; whereas 4 soy
bean milk samples contained no GE ingredients.
Among the soy bean milk samples, 2 of them had negative labelling
indicating its non-use of GE raw materials.
Currently there are already 54 countries
adopting mandatory labelling systems for GE foods, these include nearby Asian
countries and regions such as China,
Taiwan, Japan, Thailand
and the Philippines. Since 1999, Greenpeace has been urging the
HRSAR Government to adopt a mandatory labelling system, and to take an active
role in monitoring GE foods issues. In a
marked contrast with the international communities, the HKSAR Government bodies
are still hesitant in implementing such policies. GE foods are imported and sold without
restriction in Hong Kong, at the great expense of consumers’ interest. Consumers in Hong Kong have been making
robust demand for a mandatory labelling system. The policy making of the HKSAR Government
seems lagging far behind general consensus, and backward in relation to
international development. By making all
sorts of excuses, the government has been avoiding its responsibility to
monitor GE foods.
“It is obvious to all that the voluntary
labelling system has never worked. FEHD
has been reviewing the system since July last year and it refuses to publish
the results. Greenpeace strongly urges the
FEHD
to make the review available to the public, and to implement a mandatory
labelling system as soon as possible - so that the rights to choose should
remain to the consumers.” Chow remarked.
Table
1: Test results for GE foods in high risk
|
Sample
|
Source
|
Labelling
|
Results1
|
Remarks
|
|
35S
|
NOS
|
|
Chung
Hua Tofu
|
city’super
|
Contain
GE Ingredients (in Chinese)
|
+
|
+
|
Contain
Roundup Ready2
|
|
Chung
Hua Tofu (Hotpot)
|
city’super
|
Contain
GE Ingredients (in Chinese)
|
+
|
+
|
Contain
Roundup Ready
|
|
Chung
Hua Tofu
|
PARKnSHOP
|
|
+
|
+
|
Contain
Roundup Ready
|
|
Chung
Hua Tofu (Plain)
|
PARKnSHOP
|
|
+
|
+
|
Contain
Roundup Ready
|
|
Pak
Fook Beancurd Dessert
|
PARKnSHOP
|
|
+
|
+
|
Contain
Roundup Ready
|
|
Best
Buy (Silken Tofu)
|
PARKnSHOP
|
|
+
|
+
|
Contain
Roundup Ready
|
|
First
Choice (Steamed Tofu)
|
Wellcome
|
|
+
|
+
|
Contain
Roundup Ready
|
|
Pak
Fook Fresh Soy Milk
|
Wellcome
|
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
SoyaGold
Fresh Soy Milk
|
PARKnSHOP
|
No
GMO Ingredients
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
Calci-Plus Fresh Soya Fibre(Black Sesame Flavoured)
|
Wellcome
|
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
Soya
Beverage (Sweetened)
|
Wellcome
|
Made
with Non-Genetically Modified Soyabean
|
-
|
-
|
|
1. “35S Promoter” and “NOS Terminator” are inserted
during the process of genetic engineering.
A positive test result indicates that the tested sample contains GE
ingredients.
2. “Roundup Ready” is a kind of GE soyabean which
contains a herbicide resistant (specifically, resistance to Glyphosatein) gene
from a bacteria found in soil. The type
is currently the world’s most widely cultivated GE soybean. Scientists have
found unknown genes in these GE soybeans and reported risks regarding food
safety - as these unknown genes may cause a change in the plant’s protein
structure in varied environmental condition factors such as heat or dryness.
