Stores strike early with GM ban

By IRENE CHAPPLE

Supermarkets are ducking a potential food fight by pre-empting new labelling rules on GM products.

They are already checking the GM status of food before the rules come into full force on December 7 next year.

The move comes as the controversy over genetic modification heats up, with two local bodies declaring their regions GM-free.

Although the step has raised retailers' eyebrows, they believe such moves will not see products removed from shelves.

Greenpeace has named five food manufacturers which it says do not have a written policy to be GM-free - Nestle, Pam's Products, Arnott's, Ingham Chicken and Kraft.

Nestle and Kraft deny this, saying they have told Greenpeace of a GM-free policy and they are attempting to provide consumers with unmodified foods.

Arnott's says it is trying to find new products to replace soy products classified as genetically modified.

Ingham Chicken did not respond by press time.

Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey has declared his city GE-free - following the example of the Nelson City, which became GE-free in April.

To complicate matters, the Nelson City Council maintains that there is a difference between GM and GE (genetic engineering).

In its zone, GM is acceptable but GE is not because GE would include the crossing of genes.

In a Waitakere report, the definition is recognised as a moot point.

Waitakere and Nelson are the only two of around 70 councils to have taken a stand so far.

Mr Harvey says Waitakere will not police supermarket shelves, nor will it pass bylaws on the issue.

But the councils' step has raised eyebrows among supermarket chains. Barry Hellberg of the Retail Merchants Association has taken up the issue after Woolworths raised concerns that the move could hurt sales.

The association has written to Local Government Minister Sandra Lee questioning the ability of councils to declare themselves GM-free.

"It is a concern if they can pass a bylaw. The supermarket industry would challenge that on principle," said Mr Hellberg.

Brenda Cutress, of the Grocery Marketers Association, said any ban would be "illogical and impractical". The association believed modified food was "as safe as any other food".

The chief public health adviser at the Ministry of Health, Bob Boyd, said local authorities could ban GM products if they were deemed detrimental.

They could also use registration rules to ban GM food from food premises, but such moves were likely to be contested in court.

Woolworths marketing director Des Flynn said few GM products were among the 16,000 product lines on supermarkets' shelves.

"We are actively seeking to get non-GM replacements for those that [are]."

There was a "high possibility" that Woolworths, which also runs Big Fresh and Price Chopper, would be GM-free once the labelling requirement came into force.

Woolworths has contacted hundreds of suppliers and asked them to provide assurances their products are GM-free.

Progressive Enterprises, which runs the Foodtown, Countdown and 3 Guys chains, has sought a similar assurance.

It has also declared its "goal" is to ensure its house brands, Signature Range and Basics, are GM-free.

However, New Zealand's largest supermarket operator, Foodstuffs, said it was simply too hard to guarantee that products were GM-free.

The company controls just over half of all supermarket sales, largely through its Pak 'N Save and New World chains.

Its house brand, Pam's - stocked in New World, Four Square and Pak 'N Save - could not claim to be entirely GM-free, said Foodstuffs' retail operations general manager, Graham Fabian.

Foodstuffs had not required GM-free guarantees from suppliers but had asked them to ensure they complied with the impending labelling requirements.

Eighty per cent of those contacted had assured Foodstuffs that their products were not modified.

The other 20 per cent have yet to respond.

Mr Fabian believed some suppliers were shunning GM ingredients to avoid controversy.

"I think what may be happening is that suppliers are thinking, 'If we have this with a GM label it's going to stick out like a sore thumb', so they are changing it. But we are not going to go out of our way to source products which are GM-free."

Mr Fabian said the decision was ultimately up to consumers.

"If GM products are on the shelves and don't sell, we will remove them."

He also believed moves by rival supermarkets would have little effect on the market, as it would be uneconomic for suppliers to provide different products to different chains.

Mr Fabian estimated that less than 5 per cent of products were genetically modified. He said anecdotal evidence showed consumers were relaxed about GM food and would not refuse to eat it.

The Technical services manager for Cerebos Greggs, Michael Liddell, also felt that it would be difficult to enforce GM-free zones.

He said up to 15 suppliers could be part of the production chain for a product sold through supermarkets.

"A lot of companies are saying they can't afford to do it. It is a major issue logistically."

nzherald.co.nz/ge

Report of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification

GE lessons from Britain

GE links

GE glossary