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Wal-Mart illegally sells transgenic rice in China

2010-03-16 14:45 BJT

U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart has illegally been selling transgenic rice in China, according to an investigative report by Greenpeace, an independent global environmental organization.

A Wal-Mart store in China. [File Photo: Xinhuanet]
A Wal-Mart store in China. [File Photo: Xinhuanet]

The 21st Century Business Herald reports that the investigation, covering 19 supermarkets in China, found that a Wal-Mart store on Huangxing South Road in central China's city of Changsha has been selling transgenic rice.

But Wei Chao'an, Vice Minister of Agriculture, told the media last Thursday that transgenic rice is forbidden in China at present.

Greenpeace cited several research reports as having proven that genetically modified foods have unforeseeable effects on human health and called on Wal-Mart to take immediate responsibility and act to deal with the situation.

A Wal-Mart public relations employee told the newspaper that Wal-Mart is communicating actively with Greenpeace to handle the crisis.

In China, most consumers show a cautious attitude toward transgenic rice. A survey by Ipsos, a global market research firm, revealed that 65 percent of Chinese people are apt to choose non-transgenic food.

Editor: Jin Lin | Source: CRI