British shoppers still turned off by GM food: survey

A majority of British consumers still do not feel comfortable with genetically modified (GM) food, according to a Which? Magazine survey.

In a repeat of the survey of 2002, in which almost 1,000 people participated, Which? found that despite commercial growing of GM crops in the UK moving closer, only around a quarter of people in the latest survey were in favour of GM crops being grown in the UK, compared with almost a third of people in 2002.

The main concerns expressed by those surveyed were the long-term health consequences and the impact on the environment.

The survey also found that 61% were now concerned about the use of GM in food production (significantly higher than in 2002) and 58% try to avoid GM ingredients altogether – a 13% increase on 2002.

Just under two-thirds of people believe they might be eating GM foods without knowing it. Which? said that foods containing GM ingredients or derivatives must say so on the label, but foods can contain a small amount of GM material (0.9%) without being labelled as GM if the manufacturer can show that contamination could not be avoided.

GM contamination is likely to occur in soya and maize which are used in a huge range of processed foods, according to the consumer magazine.

Which? reported tests by Warwickshire Trading Standards which found soya mince that was more than 50% GM material - even though the label did not mention GM.

A further 68% of shoppers said they wanted manufacturers to go one step further and source non-GM animal feed, so meat and dairy products would have no links with the GM process.

At the moment, all supermarkets' own brand milk and much of their meat comes from animals fed on GM feed. The only milks that make the grade are M&S milk and Sainsbury's Selected Farm semi-skimmed milk, and milk labelled organic, Which? said.

Malcolm Coles, editor of Which?, said: "Consumers clearly don't want GM food and are hardening their stance against it. It's hardly surprising when questions still remain about the risks for health and the environment. The government has ignored public opinion on this subject for long enough. It needs to rethink its policy before going ahead with growing GM crops commercially."

(gmcg/mb)