April 19, 2000 / Knight-Ridder Tribune / Andrea Knox, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Genuardi's Family Markets, according to this story, broke ranks with the supermarket industry yesterday in announcing that it supports mandatory labeling of foods with genetically modified ingredients.
The story says that the move makes Genuardi's the first mainstream supermarket chain in the nation to back mandatory labeling, said Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio), who has introduced a mandatory-labeling bill in the House of Representatives.
The 33-store Genuardi's chain, which has the second-largest market share in the Philadelphia area, was cited as saying it takes no position on whether the foods are safe but believes consumers should be given information that would allow them to choose.
Genuardi's said it would try to eliminate GM ingredients "where feasible" in its corporate-branded products and in fresh foods prepared in its stores.
The Norristown company also said it would expand its offerings of organic foods to provide alternatives to genetically modified foods. By federal regulation, organic foods may not contain genetically modified ingredients.
Genuardi's also said it would try to provide alternatives to irradiated foods, which the Food and Drug Administration requires be labeled.
Company spokesman Alan Tempest was cited as saying that each of the nine Genuardi family members who share ownership of the chain has written to state and national legislators to urge mandatory labeling, adding, "This is really the beginning of something. It will have an impact across the country."
Until now, only organic- and natural-food stores, including Fresh Fields parent company Whole Food Markets, have supported labeling.
The Food and Drug Administration, which oversees the safety of the food supply, has agreed with the food industry position that genetically modified foods are no different from traditional foods and therefore don't need to be labeled.
The Grocery Manufacturers of America has strongly opposed labeling, which it says would give the impression that there is something wrong with genetically modified food. In January, GMA circulated a letter signed by 35 food-industry organizations urging lawmakers not to adopt mandatory labeling because it would cause "consumer confusion, not consumer education."
One signatory was the Food Marketing Institute, the supermarket trade association. FMI senior vice president Karen Brown was cited as saying yesterday that the group favors voluntary labeling of foods known to be GM-free.
Brown of the Food Marketing Institute was further cited as saying she believes mandatory labeling won't be possible for at least two years, because there is no consensus on what tests for GM content are reliable or what threshhold level of GM content would trigger the need for a label. And it will take several years for farmers, grain elevators and shippers to establish systems and facilities for keeping keep genetically modified crops separate from others, she said.
(posted without permission)
