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Nissin acknowledges possible presence of GMO food in noodles
Japan Economic Newswire
DATELINE: OSAKA, April 11 Kyodo
Nissin Food Products  Co. on Wednesday acknowledged the possibility of the  presence of genetically modified soy beans in instant cup  noodles it is marketing in Thailand. Nissin officials said  the company may have used a type of 'vegetable protein'  extracted from genetically engineered soybeans to boost the  volume of meat used as an ingredient of the 'Cup Noodle 1,'  which its Thai subsidiary is now manufacturing.  

 'Genetically modified soybeans may have been used as part  of the soybeans that make up part of the materials for use  in our cup noodles products,' a Nissin official said. Since  the Thai unit is now in the process of replacing any such  allegedly genetically engineered soybeans with natural  ones, the process of replacement is expected to be  completed by the year-end, the official said. The officials  made the remarks a day after the Greenpeace environmentalist group accused Nissin of selling the noodles containing  genetically modified ingredients without pasting a label  warning Thai people of the presence of such ingredients.  

 Greenpeace has been accusing Nissin, Nestle, Unilever,  Pepsi, and Procter and Gamble of using a double standard by  selling GMO-carrying products in developing countries,  whereas they have stopped selling such products in  developed nations. Companies in the Nissin group have  already finished replacing GMO-carrying products with those  that do not contain such ingredients in Japan, the  Netherlands and Hong Kong, the officials said. A Nissin  spokesman said Nissin subsidiaries in the United States,  India, the Philippines 'are making efforts to replace all  of the products with GMO-carrying ingredients with those  without such ingredients by March next year.'

 Greenpeace-commissioned laboratory tests confirmed the  presence of GMOs in seven daily food items sold in Thai  supermarkets, the environmentalist group said.