Wyeth Nutrition statements on genetically modified food

Tuesday October 19

S-26 Soy product

Updated Statement from Wyeth Nutrition

On 27 September, Wyeth Nutrition issued a statement about the company’s stance on GMO and allegations by Greenpeace regarding S-26 Soy. The allegations followed testing conducted by Greenpeace and Channel 7’s Sunday Night program that showed trace levels of GMO in the soy-based product.

Since this time, independent tests from a certified Australian laboratory have shown no detectable traces of GMO in two batches of S-26 Soy currently available in Australia.

Regardless of the differences in test results, consumers should be reassured that S-26 Soy is an excellent product and is in full compliance with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code for non-GMO sourcing and labelling.

FSANZ regulatory limits permit amounts of no more than 1% of genetically modified material per ingredient that is unintentionally present, without requiring a product to be labelled as containing GMO.

On Friday 8 October, Wyeth Nutrition met with Greenpeace to address the matter in more detail and to begin a dialogue that will enhance the understanding of both sides of this debate.

While the issues raised are complex and will not be resolved overnight, the meeting was an important first step and demonstrates Wyeth Nutrition’s commitment to both transparency and compliance.

Since 2001, we have had a strict policy of using only non-GMO ingredients in all our infant formulas and we fully comply with this policy. We believe that claims that Wyeth Nutrition products have, on numerous occasions, been found to contain GMO ingredients predominantly relate to the period before this policy was introduced.

In the interests of consumers who rely on soy-based formulas, Wyeth Nutrition hopes Greenpeace will continue working with us and other expert stakeholders in a constructive manner and will seek to better understand the rigorous quality monitoring measures Wyeth has in place to ensure our compliance with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Parents should be reassured that Australian food regulations are among the strictest in the world and that the safety and nutritional value of our infant formulas is Wyeth Nutrition’s fundamental operating priority.