Beijing - The latest test conducted by a local institution indicates that Heinz Baby Rice Cereal doesn't contain genetically engineered rice, Heinz (China) Investment Co. said Thursday.

Heinz (China) commissioned the Institute of Plant Protection under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to test a batch of infant cereal which Greenpeace said contained GM rice. Greenpeace had based its claim on a test conducted by Gene-Scan Analytic GmbH, a Germany-based laboratory.

The company also said local governments hadn't asked it to recall the product.

But Greenpeace remained unconvinced, suggesting that the test results were unreliable.

"It's not a matter of how many institutions that have tested the product and concluded its GM free, it's about how the process goes," said Ma Tianjie, a GM campaigner with Greenpeace China.

He said he doubted the results gained through tests that were commissioned by the company being questioned.

China's Ministry of Agriculture said earlier it had launched an investigation and commissioned a local lab specialized in GM testing to check the product and would inform the public when it was done.

Heinz (China) Investment Co., a unit of H.J. Heinz Co. (HNZ), said earlier that all previous lab tests conducted by Hong Kong DNA Chips Ltd. and SGS Group in China didn't show any GM elements in the company's baby food products, including the batch of infant cereal that Greenpeace claims contains traces of pest-resistant GM rice.