Anti-Biotech Group Targets Kraft Foods
By Deborah Cohen
Reuters News Service, February 5, 2002

CHICAGO (Reuters) - No. 1 U.S. food maker Kraft Foods Inc., whose brands include Oscar Mayer meats and Philadelphia cream cheese, is once again the target of a green group leading the charge against the use of genetically altered ingredients in commercial foods.

The Washington-based group, Genetically Engineered Food Alert, was responsible for research that led to Kraft's 2000 recall of taco shells containing StarLink, a genetically altered corn approved for animals but not humans. Other companies later recalled products that also contained the corn variety.

The group, whose backers include Friends of the Earth and the Center for Food Safety, plans on Wednesday to unveil findings from research on a range of Kraft products it tested for genetically altered corn and soy, a group representative said.

She declined to say whether the research uncovered unauthorized ingredients in the foods. Genetically Engineered Food Alert wants Kraft to cease using genetically modified ingredients such as corn and soybeans until there has been further testing.

Kraft said its foods contain only government approved ingredients.

"The FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the American Medical Association and the World Health Organization have all looked closely at biotech ingredients and concluded that they're safe," said Kraft spokesman Michael Mudd.
"If we believed there is any risk to those ingredients, you can be sure they wouldn't be in our products," he added.

Labelling Not Required

Many genetically modified ingredients, including some soybeans and corn, are approved for use in consumer food products, and the federal government does not require their labeling. Farm groups say bioengineered crops require fewer pesticides and produce better yields.

Critics, however, say not enough is known about the long-term effects of gene-spliced foods on human health and the environment.

"I think really the major issue here is that most of the American public does not realize they're eating genetically engineered food ingredients," said Matt Rand, a spokesman for Genetically Engineered Food Alert. "This campaign ... is really going to pressure Kraft to remove their genetically engineered ingredients until they're proven safe."

The campaign against Kraft, dubbed "Genetically Krafted Foods: Not in My Kitchen," will include events at 170 cities, including Chicago, Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Boston.

One prominent health advocate, Dr. Quentin Young, chairman of the Chicago-based Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, said he would speak on Wednesday on behalf of the campaign because he thinks wider research is needed on genetically modified food ingredients, particularly their implications for children.

"About the issue of food safety, I think you can't be too cautious because you can't turn back," Young told Reuters. "We shouldn't have to do it the hard way. We know how to do reasonably reliable controlled studies."

In September 2000, Genetically Engineered Food Alert unveiled research that led to a national recall of Kraft's Taco Bell taco shells that had been manufactured with StarLink corn, a genetically altered variety made by Aventis SA . The research led to a government investigation.

"That was a clear instance of an ingredient that was not confirmed for use," said Kraft's Mudd. "Once we confirmed it was present in the product, we immediately recalled it."

StarLink corn is engineered to produce the pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis, which protects growing plants from the destructive European corn borer.

Prior to the StarLink incident, Genetically Engineered Food Alert and its members had pressured big food makers to cease using genetically modified ingredients. In July 2000, they called on Campbell Soup Co. to stop using gene-spliced ingredients in its soups, breads, juices and other products. At that time, the group vowed to target other major food makers.

Camden, New Jersey-based Campbell, the world's biggest soup maker, launched the first genetically modified food, the Flavr Savr tomato, which was engineered for a longer shelf life than ordinary tomatoes.