CRI News--Swiss foodmaker Nestlé denies any wrongdoing after several Chinese newspapers accused it of violating the country's rules on labeling genetically modified food products.
The controversy arose after local newspapers picked up on recent charges by the environmental group Greenpeace.
It charges that Nestlé is continuing to sell products with genetically modified ingredients in Asia, even though public pressure in Europe has forced it to stop using such ingredients for products sold there.
In recent days, several dailies have run front-page stories that repeated the allegations, and quoted Chinese officials saying Nestle hadn't submitted any application to label its products as containing genetically modified organisms, as new rules issued early this year appear to require.
However, Nestlé says its products in China are in strict compliance with the Chinese government regulations and Nestlé's own very strict standards respecting international regulations and guidance.
Nestlé continues to defend its use of genetically modified food ingredients, citing research that it says shows that genetically modified foods are as safe as conventional ones.
source: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200212/06/eng20021206_108049.shtml 6dec02
BEIJING--Nestle on Thursday denied reports by Chinese newspapers that the company broke the country's rules on genetically modified food.
The newspapers, quoting Chinese officials, said Nestle hasn't applied to label products containing genetically modified organisms, as required by new rules.
Nestle didn't confirm or deny that products cited by the news reports contained genetically modified ingredients. But a company spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires that China's rules apply to imports, while "Nestlé's products are processed final-use food products and aren't covered by these rules."
"Nestle's products in China ... are in strict compliance with the Chinese government regulations," the company said in a statement.
The news reports were based on an announcement by the environmental group Greenpeace in June that it had found genetically modified ingredients in six Nestle products. It said they included soy milk and an infant cereal.
China promotes some genetically modified crops for use by Chinese farmers, but foreign companies say inspection and labeling rules issued this year could hamper imports.
Soybean farmers in the United States and other countries use genetically modified seeds. China is a major soybean importer, but the Nestle spokeswoman said, "99 percent of Nestle's China products are made in China and use domestic materials."
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