Chinese consumers queue for GE-Free produce and information being distributed by Greenpeace at a Guangzhou supermarket.
Thirty-two food producers operating in China today announced
they are now officially committed to not selling genetically
engineered (GE) food in China. This is the first time food
producers have publicly committed to such a policy in China, the
largest food market in the world.
The companies now committed to eliminating GE ingredients
include internationally known brand names such as Wyeth, Mead
Johnson, Wrigley and Lipton, which already have non-GE policy in
many other countries. The local companies 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.
The commitment from the 32 companies appears in sharp contrast
to the record of Nestle - a multinational caught in selling GE
products in China last year and by now famous for its
double-standards. The scandal alerted the consumers about the
problem of unknown GE in their food and made them return Nestle
products back to retailers.
"Some food companies are smart enough to learn from Nestle's bad
example," said Greenpeace campaigner Sze Pang-cheung. "Today we
welcome the first wave of companies making public commitment in
China but the truth is that non-GE trend is here to stay."
The local food companies committing to non-GE benefit greatly
from the new government policy introduced in March, which commits
to keeping production in the largest soy production provinces in
North East China non-GE. China is the world's fourth largest soy
producer. The Chinese Government has recently stepped up its
efforts to enforce the GE labelling legislation and conducted
inspections. Officials have emphasised producers selling unlabelled
GE products would be penalised.
"Food businesses in China are joining the ranks of a growing
number of companies world-wide by committing to non-GE standards.
Chinese consumers are no different from people elsewhere: people
want non-GE food. The Chinese Government is taking seriously their
right to choose. The choice left for food producers is either to
label their products as GE and face consumer rejection, or to risk
violating the regulations," said Sze Pang-cheung.
Greenpeace urges more companies to follow suit to address
consumers' growing concern on GE food. (2)
VVPR info: For photos, please contact Percy Mak, Media Officer with Greenpeace China (Hong Kong), +(852)-93816304 or +(852)-28548326
Notes: (1) 32 producers (with 53 brands) sent formal statements to Greenpeace confirming they do not to use GE ingredients in their products sold in China. (2) According to a survey conducted by Zhongshan University in December 2002, 87% of the respondents demand labelling of GE products and 56% would choose non-GE food over GE food if given the choice.