Nestle in hot water over GMOs ( 2003-12-26 09:41) (China Business Weekly)
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.
A sales clerk sells
a cup of Nescafe coffee on Sunday in a Wu-Mart store in Beijing. Some
consumers recently accused Nestle of using genetically modified
ingredients in its products sold in China without labelling.
[newsphoto.com.cn]
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.
