Nompumelelo Magwaza
WOOLWORTHS aimed to reduce by 50 percent the number of its private-label products that contained genetically modified (GM) ingredients, the food and fashion retailer said last week. It would do this within 12 months.
The retailer said this followed a number of pleas from its customers that they would prefer not to buy products that contained GM ingredients.
Only 5.3 percent of Woolworths private-label items contain ingredients from potential GM crop sources. This number is expected to drop to less than 2.7 percent within 12 months.
The safety of GM organisms has been a concern since researchers introduced them commercially in 1996 in the US and in 1998 in South Africa.
According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, South Africa last year produced 2.9 million hectares of GM crops. South Africa is the eighth-largest producer of GM organisms in the world. Maize, soya beans and cotton are the only GM crops that are allowed to be grown here.
The laboratory-created crops have raised health concerns and mislabelling issues. The Consumer Protection Act requires that all foods containing 5 percent or more GM content must be labelled.
However, there have been different views on the interpretation of this legislation.
Groups such as the African Centre for Biosafety, which campaigns against bio-engineering, have fought big food companies such as Tiger Brands, Pioneer Foods and, more recently, retailers over the use of GM ingredients as well as improper labelling of some products.
Woolworths managing director for foods Zyda Rylands said the agricultural industry had changed since the introduction of GM crops in South Africa.
“It has become more challenging to source competitively priced ingredients from non-GM sources, and we are most grateful to suppliers who have committed to taking this journey with us.”
She said Woolworths was working on identifying ingredients from non-GM crop sources that were both sustainable and commercially viable.
“Where possible [we] will try to minimise the commercial impact,” she added.
Globally, the debate against the use of GM organisms has been focused on safety, the effects on small farmers and potential long-term risks.
However, those in favour of GM crops have argued that modified plants and animals grow and mature faster with greater disease resistance. They have also argued that there was no risk to people or the environment.
Non-profit biotechnology group AfricaBio said the campaign against GM food would be appropriate only if there was evidence of an intrinsic hazard, but there was none.
“In South Africa, no scientifically substantiated report of ill-health caused by the consumption of GM food has been reported.”
AfricaBio, however, supports proper labelling. “Whether developed through biotechnology or other methods, if there is change in nutritional composition, the product must be labelled,” it said.
The Woolworths share price rose 0.67 percent to close at R73.45 in Johannesburg on Friday, ending well off the day’s low of R72.50