Irish stores in move to ease GM food fears

The Irish supermarket group Superquinn is to form an alliance with leading European supermarkets and remove genetically modified ingredients from all its own-brand ranges. The unprecedented move is in response to customer unease about GM foods.

The British supermarket giants Sainsbury and Marks & Spencer, and the French hyper-market group Carrefour - among others - have joined forces in the initiative. GM ingredients will be removed from their own-brand ranges by summer, it was announced yesterday - in most cases, it will amount to a GM food ban in their outlets.

They are to source non-GM product, particularly soya, and offer customers a "GM-free" guarantee on their product lines backed by independent tests. The significance of the move is their buying power, for it includes some of the biggest retailers in Britain, France and Italy. Market specialists predicted it would break the stranglehold of GM soya producers in the US.

Superquinn was anxious to source guaranteed GM-free foods for its customers, and this was a way it could be achieved, said its marketing director, Mr Eamonn Quinn. It was prompted by consumer concerns about labelling GM foods and their "lack of confidence in the whole GM issue".

At present, a small number of Superquinn products contain GM ingredients. These would be phased out and, while they were not introducing an immediate blanket ban on GM foods, they would promote non-GM foods, in the way that organic and fresh foods dominate in their outlets, Mr Quinn said.

Genetic Concern paid tribute to the "first Irish supermarket chain to go GM-free". It would have the effect of creating a market for segregated crops from farmers not using gene technology. "As more food producers reject GM ingredients, farmers will be forced to start growing the sort of foods consumers demand."

However, Ms Kathryn Raleigh of IBEC, which represents Irish food producers, expressed disappointment. Consumer surveys had indicated their most pressing need was for transparent labelling of GM foods and well-focussed information. "People don't know [what's involved]. They're scared."

The involvement of Sainsbury has surprised many, given that its one-time owner, Lord Sainsbury, a minister in the British government, is a strong advocate of gene technology. The alliance is completed by Delhaize (Belgium), Migros (Switzerland) and Effelunga (Italy).