Corporate Giants Nestle, Schweppes And Fosters Commit To Ge-free Ingredients 1

MEDIA RELEASE

Corporate giants Nestl, Schweppes and Fosters commit
to GE-free ingredients

Sydney, Wednesday, 28 October, 2009: Leading brands Nestl, Foster's, Schweppes and Lindt committed to
keeping their food and drinks free from genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in the 2010 Greenpeace Truefood
Guide launched today.

Launched by celebrated chefs Martin Boetz and Margaret Fulton, and Clover Moore MP, Lord Mayor of Sydney
as part of the Sydney International Food Festival, the Greenpeace Truefood Guide rates over one thousand of
Australia's top food and beverage brands for the presence of GE ingredients.

"The 2010 Truefood Guide is the biggest guide ever, as the Australian food industry answers consumer calls for
GE-free food," Greenpeace GE Campaigner Rochelle Porteous said. "It is the only comprehensive shopping
guide that empowers Australians to avoid GE ingredients."

For the first time, this year's harvest of Australian GE canola will find its way into foods like pasta sauces, breads,
cakes, baby food, oils and margarines, because NSW and Victoria have started commercially growing small
amounts of GE canola.

"Genetically engineered food has not been proven safe to eat and almost all GE foods aren't labelled so our
families are taking part in a giant uncontrolled experiment. But people can vote with their wallet to choose safe
non-genetically engineered food," said Porteous.

Martin Boetz, one of 180 chefs to sign the GE-free Chef's Charter, hosted the launch of the Consumer Guide at
his Sydney Restaurant Longrain.

"We have no knowledge about the long-term side effects on our bodies and environment from consuming GE
food and I do not wish to promote this in my cookery," Boetz said.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP welcomed the guide as a way of making it easier and simpler for people to make
ethical and healthier food choices.

"Government and industry have a responsibility to encourage sustainable and healthy food choices and make
sure people know what is in the food they are eating. The City has an internal policy requiring ethically and
sustainably sourced foods for all Council catering. The policy includes the avoidance of GE foods."

Since the release of the first Greenpeace Truefood Guide in 2003, more than half of Australia's top food brands
have committed to non-GE policies. Foster's, Nestle, Schweppes and Lindt have now shifted to non-GE
ingredients policies for their Australian brands, recognising that their customers don't want to eat food that is
potentially unsafe.

"Foster's is pleased to clarify that the ingredients used to produce our Australian beer and wine portfolio are non-
GE," Scott Delzoppo, Sustainability Manager of Foster's group said. "We recognise this area is highly complex
and of concern to our consumers and we will continue to work with our suppliers to maintain the highest quality
standards and ingredient integrity," he said.

It is consumer pressure and lobbying by Greenpeace that has kept iconic Australian brands like Milo, Uncle
Toby's cereal, VB and Peters Ice Cream free from GE-Ingredients.

Independent studies on health risks associated with GE crops are severely lacking, but peer-reviewed animal
feeding studies show that rats fed GE food displayed overwhelmingly negative side-effects, including a 16%
increase in liver size, stomach lesions and signs of immune-deficiency.

According to Greenpeace Campaigner Rochelle Porteous, it is health risks like this that have sparked consumer
and food industry rejection of GE Food.

"Opinion polls show the majority of consumers don't want to eat GE food and 90% want it labelled," says
Porteous. "In the coming months Greenpeace will campaign to ensure the recently announced COAG food
labelling review protects consumers' right to chose safe, non-GE food and doesn't leave Australians eating in the
dark."

Media Contact: Elsa Evers 0438 204 041, [email protected]

Images/Footage: Wade Marynowsky 0422 537 292 http://www.greenpeacemedia.org/ Username: photos Password:
green