LABEL LAWS `FAILING TO COPE WITH GENETIC FOOD SPREAD'
PA 28.01.99 19:48
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By Eileen Murphy, Consumer Affairs Correspondent, PA News
Food companies are unlawfully selling products containing
genetically modified (GM) ingredients without stating this
clearly on the label, environmental campaigners claimed today.
Friends of the Earth, who believe that current EU labelling
regulations are inadequate to cope with the spread of GM foods,
said a survey by local authority scientists showed that just
under a third of 200 items purchased across a number of local
regions were found to contain genetically modified soya or maize
when DNA-tested.
FoE alleged that just one of the offending items stated the fact
that it contained GM ingredients despite an EU regulation,
introduced in September last year, which stated that food
products for human consumption containing DNA from GM ingredients
must be labelled.
Scientists at Worcestershire County Council's Scientific
Services, a centre which uses genetic fingerprinting techniques
to trace ingredients, found that many of the companies who had
failed to declare GM ingredients were not even aware that their
products actually contained them.
Carol Stevens from Worcestershire's Scientific Services said:
"We found that one third - around 60 - of the 200 items
sampled contained GM soya or maize."
Peter Riley, FoE food campaigner, said today: "These new
findings highlight the impotence of the European GM scheme. If
companies don't know their products contain GM ingredients they
won't label them.
"The Government should stick up for consumers and ensure we
don't have to swallow these mutant foods against our will. The
best way to do this is to ban all GM foods for five years."
Worcestershire County Council want the Government to formally
adopt the EU labelling laws and claim that consumers should have
the right to choose if they consume GM material.
Phil Whitehouse, principal trading standards officer for WCC,
said the results of their tests raised serious concerns.
The council submitted 24 samples for DNA analysis which had been
purchased from within their own region - 21 food and three animal
feeding stuffs.
Mr Whitehouse explained that the majority of these were soya
flour and soya milk.
Fifteen of the food samples were products which were taken off
shelves in retail outlets while the remaining six were items to
be used in the manufacture of another product.
Of the three animal feed samples one was found to contain GM
material and WCC found that the supplier was not aware of this at
the time. They have since changed supplies to non-GM material.
From the six samples of food ingredients two were found to
contain GM soya, said the researchers. Both companies have since
ceased using these products.
Out of 15 samples of products on sale in shops and stores two
contained GM soya. While this was declared on the label of one of
the products it was not on the other sample. The company not
declaring has now changed non-GM supplies.
Mr Whitehouse said: "We decided to carry out these tests to
see exactly what the situation with GM foods was out there. One
of our concerns was that the manufacturers had purchased these
materials thinking that they were GM-free.
"The other concern is the right of the consumer to have
information about GM content to give them the freedom to make an
independent, informed choice.
"This subject is at the cutting edge of technology and there
is a lot of confusion out there among consumers as we all don't
know which way things are going to go on this."
Mr Whitehouse said the food stuffs purchased had come from the
"whole spectrum" of retail outlets and would be
commonly available on shop shelves but refused to reveal the
names of the companies or stores involved."