A product produced by a company is marked with "processed raw materials for genetically modified rapeseed and soybeans."
A company's production of raw materials marked as "non-genetically modified soybeans."
The cause of the investigation
GM rice appeared in the market?
Last month, the environmental protection organization exposed illicitly distributed genetically modified rice on the domestic market. A report in China News Weekly quoted a survey report saying that there had been GM rice that had flowed from Hubei to cities like Zhongshan and Zhuhai. The Department of Agriculture of Guangdong Province immediately notified the cities to conduct inspections, even if there were suspected rice. So far, China has not approved any kind of genetically modified staple foods to enter commercial production, and private cultivation is illegal.
Recently, it has been reported that GM rice has once flowed from Hubei to cities like Zhongshan and Zhuhai. The city’s agricultural department said that no suspicious rice was found in Zhongshan after inspection. However, the reporters found that in fact, genetically modified foods have been quietly "hidden" to the public table. The majority of consumers said that they did not pay much attention to genetically modified foods but were sensitive to the brand and price of the products.
Food oils, sauces, soy milk, baby rice noodles, casual snacks, etc. Some of the foods containing genetically modified raw materials are not marked on their packaging. However, the non-labeled "non-genetically modified" foods have taken the initiative to show up. There are environmental protection organizations that require the state to strictly label the system for the convenience of the public. Experts said that it is unclear whether GM foods are harmful to the human body and there is no need to panic.
Rice seeds are strictly controlled
Some grain shop owners said that the goods are brought in from familiar channels, and they haven't heard of genetically modified rice. “All the same rice, who can tell whether it is genetically modified?†and the supermarket’s bulk rice is even bigger. Some of them do not indicate the place of production, and almost all use vague labels such as "high-quality rice." The clerk said that most of the buyers only looked at the color and smell of the rice, and very few asked about the place of production.
The reporter contacted the Science and Technology Education Bureau of the Municipal Bureau of Agriculture. The other party stated that Zhongshan did not grow genetically modified rice and the exposed genetically modified rice was not found in the circulation market. The state only allows GM crops to be cultivated in small-scale experiments and commercial circulation is prohibited. For cereals, soybeans, wheat, and other major crops, the companies that manage seeds are also under strict control. Most of the seeds of Zhongshan Rice are provided by the municipal seed company and come from provincial-level agricultural extension departments. seed. For example, in Banfu Town, the rice planted by farmers is mainly small-grained sticky and fine-grained silk seedlings, and 90% of the seeds are from municipal seed companies.
In the field of cultivation, there can be no GM rice, but is there any circulation in the market? The person in charge said that circulation is not within the supervisory duties of the Bureau of Agriculture, and it is difficult to monitor. Because GM rice and ordinary rice have no difference in appearance, the technical power of the Municipal Bureau of Agriculture is not enough to detect GM rice.
Two steps worse than eating GM rice
Dr. Chen Dinghu, deputy director of the Technical Center of Zhongshan Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, had been exposed to GM technology since 1989 and returned from the National Center for Biotechnology in Spain in 2005. He said that at present, the world's transgenic plants are concentrated in two large blocks. One is the herbicide gene, which is mainly used by the United States for soybeans. The land on which soybeans are planted is not long weeds. The other is the BT toxin protein gene. This is a bacterium that comes from the soil. It is introduced into plants and is resistant to pests and diseases. At present, the global transgenic crops mainly include corn, soybeans, rapeseed, potatoes and cotton.
China's plan for genetically modified crops is divided into five steps, a research phase, two testing phases, three environmental release phases, four small-scale production experiments, and five application security certificates. "Even if we go through five steps, citizens will not be exposed to related products. There are still two steps before they enter circulation. It is also necessary to issue health permits and business licenses."
Genetically modified foods are hidden and difficult to label
Many citizens in Zhongshan feel that since the government has said that GM rice has not been found to be circulated, we are still far from “genetically modified†foods. In fact, genetically modified foods are very common and many of them have been “latent†on our table. Although the reporter visited the supermarkets and found no genetically modified rice, he unexpectedly discovered many genetically modified foods that were listed by Greenpeace.
In 2002, China's “Measures for Sanitary Management of Genetically Modified Foods†stipulated that: Genetically modified foods should be marked with “transgenic ××food†or “transgenic ××food as raw materialâ€. However, this system is useless and most manufacturers do not implement it.
For example, the first "Kale B lobster-flavored millet with a GM ingredient" that was detected by the provincial Bureau of Industry and Commerce in November last year has been sold in major supermarkets in Zhongshan. Several months have passed since the announcement of the provincial results. The reporter reviewed the "Kale B" series of snacks, mostly corn meal. Until now, its products have not yet been labeled as "transgenic."
The most commonly used soybean oil for the public, although generally implementing the tagging system, is “hidden†in the description of the inconspicuous corner. In some soy milk and soy sauce industries, using GM soybeans as raw materials is an ironclad fact. According to nationally released data, China imports a large amount of soybeans each year, and some of them have entered the food industry. The reporter's soy bean oil, salad oil, and blended oil in Jinlongyu were mixed in a dense text: raw materials for processing were genetically modified soybeans, and raw materials for processing were genetically modified rapeseed. Consumers must pay attention to find out. The "Delicious" high-fiber coarse-grain cakes and high-fiber fried bran cakes in the Dali Group's food packaging ingredients column are marked with "made from genetically modified soybeans."
Non-genetically modified foods are clearly marked
On the other hand, some products that use non-GM soybeans do not need to be marked, but manufacturers will use the “non-transgenic†label in the most prominent position. Last year, Yang Xiecheng’s soymilk containing “genetically modified†raw ingredients was tested by Greenpeace. This year's new packaging has been marked with “non-genetically modified†labels. Its company has joined Greenpeace's commitment not to use activities that contain genetically modified ingredients. The Pearl River Bridge brand and delicious fresh soy sauce produced in our city are all marked with the use of non-genetically modified soybeans, or marked as "IP non-genetically modified system."
The reporter contacted Fang Lifeng, director of the Food and Agriculture Project of Greenpeace’s Beijing headquarters. He said that at present the state's labeling system for "transgenic" is not strictly enforced. Last year, Greenpeace tested daily foods at major supermarkets in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, many of which contained genetically modified ingredients but did not label them.
Why does the state not require the labeling of "non-genetically modified food" companies to show up on their own? Take soybean as an example, the genetically modified soybean is about 3 yuan/kg, and the non-genetically modified soybean is 4 yuan/kg. Companies that use genetically modified soy ingredient materials are afraid to label consumers because they are afraid of safety and do not buy. Companies that use non-genetically modified soybeans want to attract customers with clear labels.
Judging from the current consumption situation in our city, there is not much difference between the prices of foods containing genetically modified ingredients and general foods. Ordinary consumers in Zhongshan have not yet had a clear sense of this. The reporter randomly surveyed some citizens. The vast majority of people said that they had no concept of genetic modification. They usually did not notice this issue, nor did they know how to distinguish whether it was a genetically modified food.
Don't panic too much
Reporter: There are environmental protection organizations that have asked all foods to indicate whether they are "genetically modified." Do you think this will help food safety?
Chen Dinghu: At present, security has not yet been determined. Even the government and experts have no conclusion. Even if it is marked out, how can the public choose? This will only appear two phenomena. One is that the genetically modified foods cannot be sold, and people would not dare to eat genetically modified foods. The second is that the genetically modified foods developed by companies and scientists, even if they are really no poison, are not wanted. No one is willing to study such technologies. This is not conducive to the development of science. Because "transgenic" still has its benefits. If the drought is serious in the southwest, rice can hardly grow. However, after the genetically modified "arid rice" variety, the cultivation of grain will not be constrained by water sources.
Reporter: Are we now avoiding genetically modified foods as much as possible?
Chen Dinghu: There is no need to panic. For example, soybean oil is basically safe after so many years of testing. After soybeans were pressed into soybean oil, no genetically modified components could be detected. Therefore, it is still safer to eat.
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What is genetically modified?
Use scientific methods to extract the desired gene from a certain species of organism and transfer it to another organism to recombine with the genes of another organism to produce specific substances with excellent genetic traits, such as insect resistance, Cold-resistant plants. However, there has been no conclusion as to whether genetically modified foods are harmful to humans. Yuan Longping said this year that the "two sessions" of the country will require at least two generations of experiments to know if it is truly safe.
Green Peace
Greenpeace was established in 1971 and currently has branches in more than 40 countries and regions in the world, with more than 2.8 million supporters. In order to maintain their impartiality and independence, they do not accept any government, business, or political group funding, and only accept direct donations from citizens and independent funds. Greenpeace China was established in Hong Kong in 1997 and currently has a project liaison office in Beijing.