106 brands, including Coca-Cola, are listed in Greenpeace's
second shoppers' guide to companies that have committed not to use
genetically modified or GM ingredients.
The shoppers' guide was released in Beijing by Greenpeace
yesterday.
"In China, we use high fructose corn syrup produced from
non-biotech corn, sugarcane and beet, for which biotech versions
are not being commercially grown," Coca-Cola told Greenpeace
China.
It is the second shoppers' guide Greenpeace has compiled for
Chinese consumers.
As well as the 106 brands that have committed not to use GM
ingredients, the guide also names 110 brands, including Nestlé,
that have not committed to a non-GM policy. According to
Greenpeace, these companies' products might well contain GM
ingredients, which shoppers can bear in mind when browsing
supermarket shelves.
The current situation in China is that only certain basic
products made from soy, corn, green rape (a vegetable), cotton and
tomatoes are required to carry a GM or non-GM label. However, other
foods, which use these raw ingredients, are not required to display
whether they are GM or not.
"If the price is the same, I will definitely choose the non-GM
foods," said Wang Guixia, an elderly woman in Beijing.
"Before reading the guide, I never paid attention to whether or
not products contained GM ingredients," said Zhang Xitai, a retiree
in Beijing. "I can't remember ever seeing GM or non-GM labels on
products."
(China Daily November 14, 2005)