Wednesday October 4 7:56 PM ET
 Greenpeace Issues 'Shopping List' of Biofoods

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The anti-biotech group Greenpeace issued a
``shopping list'' on Wednesday outlining thousands of brand-name 
cereals, snacks, frozen dinners and other foods that contain 
genetically-altered corn, soybeans and other ingredients.

The activist group said it published the list on its web site, along
with a list of foods that do not contain gene-spliced ingredients, 
to give consumers a choice at the grocery store.

``While food companies have eliminated genetically engineered
ingredients in Europe, the shopping list is the only way American 
consumers can avoid genetically engineered contaminated food,'' said 
Charles Margulis, a Greenpeace food spokesman.

Japan, Australia, Italy, Britain and a dozen other nations now require
labels on foods containing genetically-altered ingredients.

U.S. regulators have rejected pressure from activist groups for similar
labelling requirements, saying the foods are no different from those 
grown with conventional crops.

Labelling has been thrust into the spotlight with the Food and Drug
Administration (news - web sites)'s current investigation into how a 
biotech corn variety ended up in taco shells, even though it
wasn't approved for human food. The taco shells were recalled because
of concern that some people could be allergic to the corn.

The FDA is expected to soon issue voluntary guidelines for U.S.
companies that want to add a label saying a food does or does not 
include biotech ingredients.

American food companies, which oppose mandatory labels, said the new
Greenpeace shopping list failed to tell consumers that regulators have 
found all the foods safe.

``These products are safe and adhere to science-based federal food
regulations already on the books,'' said Karil Kochenderfer, a trade 
official with the Grocery Manufacturers of America.

``Activist opponents of food biotechnology need to do their homework on
the studies done by the National Academy of Sciences and other authoritative 
bodies on products derived through biotechnology,'' he added.

The U.S. biotech industry contends gene-spliced foods are just as safe
as conventional ones, and have been subjected to more safety and environmental tests.

The National Academy of Sciences issued a report earlier this year that
cautiously endorsed the safety of biofoods but called for more study into 
long-term health and environmental effects.

The Greenpeace list was posted on the Internet at www.truefoodnow.org.