Archived press release

Illegal GM ingredients found in UK supermarkets

5 November 2000

Food containing illegal GM ingredients is being sold in the UK, Friends of the Earth and the Mail on Sunday revealed today. Laboratory tests found that Phileas Fogg Tortilla Chips and own-brand tortilla chips sold by Asda and Safeway contained GM ingredients not licensed for sale in the UK. Illegal GM traces were also found in Tesco and Sainsbury tortilla chips. FOE is demanding tough action from the Government to properly protect the public from GM ingredients that have not passed EU safety requirements. All the GM-contaminated products must be withdrawn from sale.

FOE bought 20 products - mainly tortilla chips - from a number of supermarkets in the UK. These were sent for analysis at GeneScan in Freiburg, Germany, one of Europe's top laboratories.Three were found to contain a Monsanto GM maize (GA21). Dekalb GM maize (DBT418) traces at close to the detection level were also found in two further products. Dekalb is also owned Monsanto. Neither GM ingredient is approved for use in Europe.

Monsanto is currently seeking safety approval for GA21. Earlier this year a UK Government committee concluded that there was insufficient information on whether the GM maize could provoke allergic reactions. An application for EU safety approval for Dekalb DBT418 was withdrawn last year after concerns were raised about its potential health impact.

This year has seen a number of alarming GM contamination incidents. Millions of taco shells were removed from shop shelves in the US after Friends of the Earth US discovered that they contained a type of GM corn, Starlink, not approved for human consumption. Starlink has Federal approval to be grown as animal feed but cannot be used in human food because it “exhibits some characteristics of known allergens”. And in the UK, earlier this year, farmers were forced to destroy their crops after it was discovered that their non-GM oilseed rape had been contaminated with a GM variety which couldn't lawfully be marketed in the UK.

Adrian Bebb, GM campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:
“This shocking discovery is the latest in a growing list of GM blunders. It's becoming increasingly clear that the biotech industry can't control its products and Government regulation is pathetically lax. Little wonder that public confidence in the GM industry is so low.

“The Government must learn the lessons of BSE and ensure that the our food is protected from illegal ingredients. This means setting up effective testing systems and making GM firms legally liable if things go wrong. If the biotech industry cannot guarantee segregation and traceability they shouldn't be allowed to import their products into the UK. “

Illegal GM foods - view briefing.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust