Supermarket News / April 10, 2000
PLEASANTON, Calif. -- Shareholders of Safeway here next month will vote on a proposal to label -- and eventually remove -- all genetically engineered products or ingredients sold under its brand names and private labels.
The proposal, submitted by a group of Safeway shareholders, will be voted on at Safeway's annual meeting in San Ramon, Calif., May 9, according to a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week. In the same document, Safeway's board of directors recommended shareholders vote down the proposal.
The proposal was submitted by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Saratoga, Calif., an international women's religious organization that owns 8,800 shares of Safeway, and the Educational Foundation of America, Westport, Conn., which owns 26,800 shares.
Citing scientific concern that genetically engineered agricultural products may be harmful, the groups are requesting that Safeway remove "genetically engineered crops, organisms, or products from all products sold under its brand names or private labels, where feasible, until long-term safety testing has shown that they are not harmful to humans, animals, and the environment; with the interim step of labeling and identifying these products that may contain these ingredients."
The group noted that large retailers in Europe including Tesco, Sainsbury and Carrefour, have committed to removing genetically engineered ingredients from their products. Likewise, fast food giants in the U.K. are eliminating genetically engineered soy and corn ingredients from their their menus.
Safeway said the proposals, even if well-intentioned, would be impractical and inappropriate for Safeway to implement.
"We share and actively support our customers' interests in food safety. We also believe consumers have a right to relevant information about the food they buy so that they can make informed purchasing decisions. As a retailer, however, we are neither qualified nor entitled to establish food safety regulations and labeling requirements," the company said in its filing.
"We believe this proposal is impractical and even if it could be implemented, could put Safeway at a competitive disadvantage."
(posted without permission)
