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GM cooking oil: What's in your chips?

GM cooking oil is used by take-aways, caterers and sold in supermarkets. We know because we can see GM on the labels. Most customers don't know. Did you?

16 Feb 2012

Corydon issues great new guidelines

The London Borough of Croydon has issued very helpful information about GM in caterers - feel free to use it, or even send it to your Trading Standards office asking them to emulate it. See http://www.croydon.gov.uk/business/support/food/fd/gmfood


What you can do

Please write to Trading Standards and ask them to uphold the law.

In 2008 York Trading Standards officers reported an official investigation revealed a quarter of caterers were using GM oil and 94% of them are selling it unlabelled in violation of the law (see Thin Ice, Issue 9). In Norfolk Trading Standards officials reminded all takeaway owners they face six months in jail and fines of up to £5,000 if they use unlabelled GM ingredients - something over 40% of establishments visited are doing.

Find your local Trading Standards office by post code at the bottom of the page here.  In some places Environmental Health is responsible for these issues - see the briefings about for more detail.

Remember: there is NO "threshold" for intentional use of GM, or for labelling it. If a restaurant uses GM oil, the FSA says they have to tell their customers. Very low levels of accidental GM presence may not be labelled as a one-off, but ongoing or intentional use does not qualify.

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Points to include:

  • ask what Trading Standards are doing to uphold the law in this area. Clearly the problems are arising in a variety of places across the country, and it's time it was dealt with.
  • remind them that this is not a matter of expensive testing, but simply checking labels during the course of normal inspections to ensure that if GM ingredients are in the kitchen, customers are told up front.

Background to this action

Other things you can do

1) Read all about it

- GM with your Chips?: GM labelling and traceability re: food sold from catering and fast food establishments

- GM Labelling and Traceability: Enforcing enforcement

- GM Food and Crops: Maintaining consumer choice - A report of a survey on the enforcement of the EU GM Traceability and Labelling Regulations

2) Leave "calling cards" in shops where you find GM items or ingredients

3)*** Encourage local businesses to tell customers they are GM free with our handy window sign and pledge you can download and print for *free*.

4) Tell us where you find GM oil, and help us build our list of GM products on shelves.

All previous updates

28 Jul 2011

Summer not-so-specials?

We've just learned that supermarkets are offering GM oil at special prices.

Tesco have marked down to £5 KTC GM oil in bottles.

At Sainsbury's 5 litres of Pride GM oil sells for £6.55 but is on offer 2 for £11.

Read those labels or you could end up with these "special" GMOs in your kitchen.

16 Feb 2012

Corydon issues great new guidelines

The London Borough of Croydon has issued very helpful information about GM in caterers - feel free to use it, or even send it to your Trading Standards office asking them to emulate it. See http://www.croydon.gov.uk/business/support/food/fd/gmfood