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Three global supermarkets ranked bottom
By Meng Jing (皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-25 07:50
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Customers select organic vegetables that claim to be free from pesticides yesterday.?[皇冠体育app Daily] |
Walmart, Ito Yokado and Tesco are bottom of Greenpeace 皇冠体育app's 2009 supermarket ranking for its double standards regarding vegetable and fruit safety in 皇冠体育app and abroad.
In the list announced by Greenpeace 皇冠体育app on Wednesday, the three ranked 13th and worse in the 15 supermarkets due to their reluctance to improve their food safety supervision and make a commitment on banning genetically modified food in their stores.
Wang Weikang, the campaign manager of food and agriculture at Greenpeace 皇冠体育app, said Ito Yokaodo promised a strict pesticide supervision system to its Japanese consumers on its Japanese website, while Tesco and Walmart pledged no modified food to Greenpeace' UK office. But their stores in 皇冠体育app refused to make the same promise to Chinese consumers.
"All consumers in the world need safe food. If they are able to do that in other countries, why can't they do that in 皇冠体育app? Their behavior doesn't respect Chinese consumers," Wang told METRO yesterday.
According to Greenpeace 皇冠体育app, they sent out questionnaires as well as making phone calls to 15 major supermarkets all over 皇冠体育app one and a half month ago, asking for their commitments on gradually reducing pesticide amounts in vegetables and fruits to zero and selling no genetically modified food in their supermarkets. But the headquarters of Walmart, Ito Yokado and Tesco in 皇冠体育app didn't make any promises.
"Chinese supermarkets don't need to have the same standard as Japan, 皇冠体育app has its own social reality," Li Zhisheng, the spokesman of Ito Yokado's Beijing headquarter, said in reply to the accusation.
"Our supermarkets act as distributing channels and we are not producers. But we try our best to pick vegetables and fruits from brandname producers," Li added.
Li said Ito Yokado has nine supermarkets in Beijing and 95 percent of their vegetables and fruits are either organic or pollution free.
Sun Gonghe in charge of food safety at the 皇冠体育app chain store and franchise association said 皇冠体育app has a stricter standard than European countries regarding agricultural chemicals residue.
Yan Yu, a university teacher in Beijing, said the food quality in famous supermarkets is not that questionable comparing with the double standards they use in 皇冠体育app and abroad.
"I do feel I'm treated like a second-class citizen after I heard they have different exam standards in different countries," he said.
