(TORONTO) Greenpeace and the Council of Canadians today called on the country's food retailers and producers to give Canadians the same environmental and health protection that Europeans receive and take genetically engineered (GE) foods off retail shelves.

At a news conference in front of a Loblaws supermarket, the organizations released documents from ten international food companies who have taken genetically engineered ingredients out of their products in Europe, but refuse to do so in Canada. The companies include: Nestle, Kellogg's, Mars, Heinz, Cadbury, Kraft, Unilever, General Mills, Campbells, and Frito-Lay.

Greenpeace campaigner Michael Khoo said: "Food producers and retailers cannot justify this double standard. These letters show that it is possible to give the consumer GE-free food. If genetically engineered food is not fit for Europeans, it is not fit for Canadians either," he said.

Responses gathered from three major Canadian food chains (Loblaws, Sobeys and Safeway) also revealed a refusal to provide consumers with GE-free choices. These also contrast with statements from Britain's top supermarket chains, Mark's & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Safeways', and Tesco which pride themselves on providing customers with GE-free food.

The groups called on consumers to pressure Loblaws to remove GE products from "President's Choice" and "No Name" brand products, phase out GE from all other products in the store; ensure that all fresh produce remains GE-free and, in the meantime, label all GE products on the shelves.

"Genetically engineered foods have not been proven safe for human health and the environment. As the largest grocery chain in Canada, Loblaws has the obligation to take the lead, and take genetically engineered food off the shelf," said Jennifer Story, health protection campaigner for the Council of Canadians.

The groups assembled grocery carts with a wide range of popular Canadian food brands that probably contain genetically engineered ingredients: processed foods made with soya bean by-products (lecithin), chips and cereals made from corn, and oils made from canola. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, approximately 60-75% of all Canadian processed food contains GE ingredients.

Both groups noted scientific concerns that the planting and consumption of genetically engineered foods has gone ahead with no long-term government testing for heath or environmental impacts.

Elizabeth Abergel, a molecular biologist working on food regulatory issues at York University, said, "The timelines necessary for proper assessment of environmental and human health risks are being compromised by a commercial desire to rush this to market. If a threat develops, we won't know until it's too late."