A region wide operation by trading standards officers across Yorkshire and the Humber has revealed that around a quarter of caterers are using cooking oils sourced from a genetically modified (GM) food without telling their customers.

The officers visited cafes, takeaways, pubs, restaurants and hotels across the region to establish the extent to which GM sourced oils for cooking were used, and whether it was labelled on the menu.  They found one in four caterers were using oils sourced from GM crops, and of those 94 per cent were not passing the information on to their customers.

Sean Suckling, Food & Safety Unit manager at City of York Council, said: “The law requires that consumers should be made aware, before purchasing, that the food they are eating is either sourced from genetically modified food or contains genetically modified food. In other words, to allow the consumers to make their own choice on what they eat by providing accurate information to inform that choice.”

Follow up work with the premises selling the food prepared in the GM sourced oil confirmed owners were either ignorant of the law or had not carried out proper checks of the raw materials they were using.  When informed of the error, most traders chose to change to a non GM source of oil.

Sean urged all caterers to check the ingredients lists of all their food and label when necessary, to ensure that they are compiling with the law. 

He said: “Any consumers who are at all concerned regarding the inclusion of GM food should specifically ask the caterers when ordering their food whether it is GM, or sourced from a GM origin. The law requires the owner to provide an honest answer."

Consumers wanting any information on genetically modified food should visit the Food Standards Agency website. www.foostandards.gov.uk