Nestle in hot water over GMOs

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 26, 2003

Nestle in hot water over GMOs

Zhu Yanling, a mother in Shanghai was once a loyal consumer of brands of Nestle, the Switerland-based food giant. She only used Nestle products to feed her baby over the past three years.

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Zhu Yanling, a mother in Shanghai was once a loyal consumer of brands of Nestle, the Switerland-based food giant. She only used Nestle products to feed her baby over the past three years.

However, she got angry and disappointed with the company, as she recently found Nestle uses ingredients derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) without labelling them as the company usually does in many European countries.

Zhu said last week she is going to sue the food giant. She made the announcement after visiting the company's headquarter in Switzerland and receiving a poor response there.

Nestle China claimed the day after Zhu's statement that its products made and sold on the Chinese mainland do not use ingredients derived from GMOs which requires labelling by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (MOA).

The company also denied having applied what Greenpeace activists in Hong Kong called "double standards."

In some European countries, Nestle labels the presence of genetically engineered ingredients in its food products. But the company does not do so in China.

"Nestle strictly adheres to laws and regulations regarding food safety and food labelling in every country it operates," according to an open letter from Nestle regarding the issue.

However, there is not yet any globally unified standard on how to label GMOs. Nestle acts differently according to different countries' regulations, said He Tong, corporate affairs officer with Nestle China.

She told China Business Weekly it "could be possible" that Nestle products sold in China have GMOs ingredients, as "over 99 per cent of the raw materials Nestle China uses are from China."

However, she said, these ingredients are not on the list of GMOs or products directly processed from GMOs that the ministry requires to be labelled.

In a landmark regulation released in January 2002, the ministry listed five categories of GMOs, including soybean, corn, rapeseed, cotton seed and tomatoes, as well as products directly processed from them, which should be clearly labelled as GMO products when they reach the market.

"We are in strict compliance with the regulations of each country. If the rules require us to label GMOs, we will," said He.

She told China Business Weekly that Nestle does not despise any developing countries: "We do not lable GMOs on the products sold even in the United States, as our ingredients do not belong to their GMOs lists either."

"Nestle is actually taking the advantage of the weak point of China's legal system," said Ding Shihe, director of the consumption guide department under the China Consumers' Association.

"The country still lacks a complete management system on genetically modified (GM) food.

"The five categories MOA issued only restrict the use of GMOs in agricultural produce. However, food, which also use the gene technology, is still free from government control."

The MOA should either extend its management to the gene technology in food production, or transfer the right to the Ministry of Health or the State Food and Drug Administration, Ding suggested.

He also pointed out, Nestle, as a well-known multinational company, should strictly comply with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules.

"Under the WTO framework, fair trade should be guaranteed and any discrimination should be eliminated," Ding said.

In addition to admitting the possibility of using GMOs, Nestle also said in the open letter that the company supports a responsible application of the gene technology for food production based on sound scientific research, as the technology will in the longer term improve the quality, availability and nutritional value of food.

"The key message is that we are fully confident of the quality and safety of all our ingredients," He said.

However, a Greenpeace officer said Nestle has promised not to use GMOs in many European countries. "If Nestle believes GM food is as safe as other traditional food, why do they make the concession in Europe?" claimed Shi Pengxiang, project manager of genetic engineering under the Greenpeace China.

Shi said if Nestle supports the technology, the company should label its GMOs ingredients so as to state its position clearly.

Although Nestle, the consumer and the Greenpeace have their own views over the dispute, and it is hard to say if Nestle will lose the lawsuit yet, the profile of the company will definitely be influenced, said Ding.

His prediction is echoed by a poll held by Sohu.com: By the end of last Friday, 91.2 per cent of the consumers surveyed have said they will not buy Nestle products due to the GMOs ingredients.

The embarrassment is more serious as many multinationals vow to be good corporate citizens in China, but some other companies seems more eager to make profits, said an unnamed analyst.

Most people still do not know about genetically modified food and there are still disputes about safety, it is necessary to let consumers know which products are genetically modified and which are not, said Deng Huafeng, a researcher with China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Centre.

"They have the right to choose," Deng said.

And also, consumers have the right to know the facts, and they should not be conceived, Deng said.

Wang Jie, an official in charge of biospecies security with the State Environmental Protection Administration, said no evidence of harm does not necessarily mean the products are safe.

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