Recall your baby food: Greenpeace to Novartis

Recall your baby food: Greenpeace to Novartis

Reuters, Manila

Environmental group Greenpeace on Friday urged Swiss
healthcare group Novartis AG to withdraw baby food being sold in
the Philippines which contained genetically modified soy.

Greenpeace South East Asia campaign manager Von Hernandez
issued the call after Novartis confirmed allegations from the
environmental group that samples of baby food it sold in the
Philippines contained genetically modified soy.

"As a precautionary measure, we are asking Novartis to
voluntarily pull out its stocks suspected of being contaminated
with GMO. They did an investigation and we presume that they know
the batches containing GMOs," Hernandez told Reuters by phone.

In a letter to Greenpeace released in Zurich on Thursday,
Novartis said some samples of baby food it sold in the
Philippines contained genetically altered soy.

It stressed the products were safe but added that it was
seeking a new supplier.

"The ingredients used in all Novartis Consumer Health infant
and baby nutrition products worldwide are all of the highest
quality and are processed in accordance with the strict safety
guidelines set out by institutions such as the Bureau of Foods
and Drugs, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the World
Health Organization," it said in a statement issued in Manila on
Friday.

Greenpeace activists had lined up dozens of plastic baby dolls
outside Novartis headquarters in Basel in August to draw
attention to allegations that genetically modified products had
made their way into baby food made by Novartis unit Gerber.

Novartis has traced its decision to eschew so-called GMOs to
consumer preferences rather than any food safety concerns.

Companies have been developing genetically modified crops to
fight pests and plant diseases, but some consumers have bulked at
eating them for fear they could lead to health problems.

"We welcome the company's quick and responsible action to
remove GMOs from their products sold in the Philippines,"
Greenpeace genetic engineering campaigner Beau Baconguis said in
a statement.

"Novartis/Gerber must now ensure that similar episodes of
contamination are not repeated in the future and in other places,
particularly in the developing world. The company must observe
its global commitment to go GMO-free in rich or poor countries
alike."