Nestle Group Thailand yesterday lashed out at Greenpeace activists, saying they have failed to come up with any clear proof that food ingredients derived from genetically modified crops are unsafe for human consumption.  The firm also criticised Greenpeace for refusing to accept the opinion shared by international scientific bodies worldwide that GM crops are as safe as their conventional counterparts.

Nestle made the attack in a press release issued in response to a Greenpeace delegation's meeting with Nestle executives at the company's headquarters in Switzerland on Tuesday.  At the meeting, Greenpeace delegates from Thailand, the Philippines, Switzerland and Argentina demanded the firm stop using GM ingredients in its food items, citing environmental, health and food security concerns.

They called on Nestle to stop practising alleged double standard, referring to the company's use of GM ingredients in its products sold in Thailand.  The delegation also urged Nestle to label all its food products with GM ingredients.  Greenpeace alleged that Nestle used GM ingredients only in products sold in developing countries.

Nestle representatives, however, insisted the company's safety and quality standards were the same all over the world.  A Nestle spokesman said the firm's decision on whether or not to use ingredients derived from GM crops depended on national regulations, availability of raw materials, consumer attitudes and perceptions.

Against Greenpeace's belief it can impose a global solution, Nestle said that based on its 130-year experience as a global food producer, it believed that solutions had to be regional and took into account regional needs and preferences.

Varoonvarn Svangsopakul, a Greenpeace campaigner in Thailand, said it was "scandalous" that Nestle had refused to budge despite survey results that most consumers did not want GM food products.  Greenpeace Southeast Asia's consumer polls in Thailand showed 95% of the respondents wanted manufacturers to label products with GM ingredients.

Beau Baconguis, a Greenpeace campaigner for the Philippines, said he had expected Nestle to be more reasonable and responsive to Greenpeace demands.  "Obviously, they are more concerned with profit," he said.

Nestle came under attack from Greenpeace campaigners in Bangkok after laboratory tests in April and December last year showed the firm's baby food Cerelac (mixed food formula) had GM ingredients.