PA News | By Sam Greenhill, PA News
Genetically modified food has been banned at GM giant Monsanto's own staff canteen, it emerged today.
Managers in charge of catering at the company's UK headquarters in High Wycombe, Bucks, said they took the decision "in response to concern raised by our customers".
Friends of the Earth, which campaigns against the use of GM ingredients, said it proved that at a time of mounting public concern over the safety of GM foods, even Monsanto's own caterers had "no confidence" in the company's products.
The canteen at Monsanto's High Wycombe base is run by an outside company, Sutcliffe Catering, which is owned by Granada Food Services.
Mike Batchelor, quality systems director of Granada Food Services, said in a statement: "In response to concern raised by our customers over the use of GM (foods) and to comply with government legislation, we have taken the decision to remove, as far as practicable, GM soya and maize from all food products served in our restaurant."
He added that the step had been taken "to ensure that you, the customer, can feel confident in the food we serve".
Adrian Bebb, food campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: "Monsanto won't be having a very happy Christmas this year. The public has made its concerns about GM ingredients very clear - now it appears that even Monsanto's own catering firm has no confidence in this new technology.
"Throughout the year the campaign against GM food has had remarkable success, with retailers, restaurants and manufacturers forced to remove GM ingredients from the food they sell.
"This is a tremendous victory for consumers. What people want is real food, food that they can trust and food that hasn't been tampered with. However, companies must go further and ensure that all their ingredients and derivatives come from GM-free crops and that the meat and dairy products they sell are from animals not reared on GM animal feed."
Tony Combes, director of corporate affairs at Monsanto, denied that the move was embarrassing for the company and said the irony of it was that it restricted the choice of customers to decide for themselves whether they ate GM products.
He said that at Monsanto's Cambridge offices the canteen was run in-house and had a different policy on GM foods.
"We believe in choice. At our Cambridge restaurant the notice says some products 'may contain GMOs' because our staff are happy to eat foods sprayed with fewer chemicals," he said.
Mr Combes pointed out that Granada's policy was a blanket one, covering all its catering outlets. He said: "This has nothing to do with the fact that they are running Monsanto's canteen. You go to any outside catering company and you will see the same thing."
