Stuart Menzies

1
Stuart Menzies

• ASDA
• Retailer Perspective Of GM Technology

2
Current and Future Issues

• Customer Requirements
• New Legislation
• Compliance with Legislation
• Produced from? - Made with?
• The changing customer
• Sustainability of GM.

3
The Customer

• GM excluded from Private Label
• Driven by customer demand
• UK still an anti-GM Nation (MORI survey)
• Decrease in store protests / field trial protests
• But still no evidence of acceptance by the
  consumer

4
New Legislation

• Covers all ingredients made from or produced from
  a GM organism.
• Ingredient defined as (2000/13)
• - Excludes processing aids, carriers for
  additives, additives to additives Solvents..if
  it is not present in the final product!
• Consider activity of the material in the end
  product.
• Industry needs guidance to implement the
  regulations

5
Compliance with Legislation

• Traceability
• Cannot analytically prove absence or presence if
  no DNA present
• Identity preserved schemes
• Record keeping
• What will enforcement want to see? Where?
• Surveillance testing programme

6
The Future Customer

• Will they see any benefits for themselves?
• European views
• USA view
• Reports on farm scale experiments
• New licenses - wheat, potato, rape

7
Sustainability

• Will we always be able to provide for customer
  requirements enough quantities of Non GM
  material?
• Will it cost more?
• Will customers be prepared to pay?