Difficulty in tracing the origin of ingredients is proving an obstacle in labelling foods as free of genetically modified (GM) components not only in the UAE but all over the world, an international supermarket chain has said.
"Offering foods free of genetically modified organisms is part of our charter and part of our commitment to our customers. All of the Carrefour brand products are GM-free even in the UAE. But traceability of all products is the controlling factor," revealed Jean Luc Graziato, Vice-President of Marketing and Sourcing at Carrefour Hypermarts, UAE.
While there are only four crops of genetically modified plants in commercial use worldwide, two of them - soy and corn - have a wide use in the form of food additives and derived chemicals.
Earlier this year, international environment group Greenpeace visited the UAE to reveal the findings of its market survey - where 40 per cent of the food items were found to include genetically modified crops. They were all corn products with corn originating in the US - the world's largest grower of genetically modified crops.
Greenpeace had suggested that consumers in the UAE who wanted to avoid GM foods ahead of any global labelling standard simply forego American corn products, like nacho chips, corn starch and corn flakes. The simple guide was seen by many as a good initial practice for supermarkets for their own bans, which is what Carrefour was questioned about as one of the more proactive chains.
"If we talk about certification, then it is difficult to get data from the manufacturers.
We do not deal directly with manufacturers, we deal with agents. There is little transparency in the origin of ingredients then," Graziato explained as to why the hypermarket chain did not seek out and ban foods that were likely to contain genetically modified components.
"But we want to have access to this information, we want it to be on the package to give the choice to our customers to choose whether or not to buy GM or GM-free," said the representative of the international brand which has 10 outlets in the UAE.
At this stage in the debate, Graziato felt the responsibility lay on first the manufacturers to be transparent with their information.
"The global role is shared between the manufacturers, retailers, governments and the civil society," he said.
Involvement of all the parties is needed for a centralised labelling process for foods. Carrefour says it will continue to produce its own line of foods where, as manufacturer, it could ensure the GMfree nature of all ingredients.
Genetically modified organisms are plants that have had foreign genetic material inserted into their DNA - like the chemical resistance of one plant cobbled with the food value of another.
Opponents of GM believe the species may wreak havoc on the world's natural balance and could pose dangers to human health, since they have only been introduced in the commercial market in 1996 and their long-term impact is still unknown.
By Zarina Khan
© Emirates Today 2007
