General French News | Carrefour makes it easier to avoid GM food

Thursday, October, 28th at 12.40 by William Hobson


French grocery giant Carrefour has launched a label to help those concerned over genetically modified foods keep their diets as organic as possible.

Just Food reports that a new label identifying whether or not animals have been given genetically-modified feed has been added to over 300 products in Carrefour's range of foodstuffs. Applied to products containing pork, veal, poultry, fish, chicken and other dairy and meat items, the 'Nourri Sans OGM' label ('Free from genetically modified organisms') will help consumers make an informed choice when food shopping in France.

Carrefour, credited as pioneers of the hypermarket, will be well known to anyone whose French holidays tend to make use of self catering accommodation. France boasts over 1,000 Carrefour-owned supermarkets, over 200 of the immense hypermarkets, some 3,000 convenience stores as well as over 800 discounters and 134 cash & carry stores.

'We have a strong belief in Carrefour to inform our consumers and give them the freedom to choose,' said James McCann, executive director of the grocery retailer. 'With this new labelling, we allow our customers to decide in a transparent way whether or not to buy products from animals having been fed GM-free food.'

Attitudes towards GM foods and animal feed differ wildly across the world. Whilst it is generally accepted in the US, many European populations have a more careful attitude to GM crops and their use in the greater production chain.

Although several studies, including a 2008 review by the Royal Society of Medicine, have found no ill effects linked to 15 years of GM crops in the global food supply, many are still wary. This is particularly true in France, where Carrefour says its studies have shown 63% of consumers would change their purchasing habits if they knew the products came from animals fed with GM feed.