Philippine consumers are aware of biotechnology benefits and do not have
safety concerns with GMO, a recent survey by the Asian Food Information
Centre (www.afic.org) shows.


The AFIC survey covered five Asian countries, namely China, India, Japan,
the Philippines and South Korea. It aimed to provide insights on how
consumers in Asia perceive the use of biotechnology to produce foods and how
likely it is consumers are accepting the various benefits biotechnology
derived foods may bring.

The survey findings for the Philippines indicate that consumers are
knowledgeable and positive about food biotechnology. Consumers largely
believe that biotechnology crops have the potential to deliver high quality,
nutritional foods. A large majority of Philippine consumers also indicated
that they accept biotechnology as a way to increase the production of food
staples and to supply sustainable food. Compared to the other countries
surveyed, support for biotechnology appears stronger in the Philippines.

Dr. George Fuller, executive director of AFIC, says: ?Acceptance from
Philippine consumers of crop biotechnology to produce nutritionally enhanced
foods is an important outcome of this research. For instance, Golden Rice
(enhanced in B-carotene to prevent vitamin A deficiency) is close to
commercialization in the Philippines and the AFIC research shows that
consumers in the country will accept this nutritionally superior rice.?

?The survey also indicates that food security is on the consumers? mind and
consumers support biotechnology?s potential for improving agricultural
productivity?, added Dr. Fuller.

Key findings from the different areas included in the survey:

Plant biotechnology and food

Awareness about plant biotechnology is high in the Philippines and
positively correlates with favorability and acceptance of biotechnology to
produce foods.

Almost one in three Philippine consumers report that they are very
knowledgeable about biotechnology and in total two thirds say they have at
least some knowledge.

The majority of consumers (59 percent) have favorable impressions of plant
biotechnology while 19 percent are neutral. A large majority (73 percent) of
Philippine consumers believes that they would personally benefit from food
biotechnology in the next five years. Key expected benefits are improved
food quality and making food more affordable.

A vast majority of the surveyed consumers would be ready to purchase foods
produced through biotechnology for specific benefits. More than 90 percent
of the consumers would be likely to buy cheaper rice or rice with an
increased nutritional value (like a higher vitamin A content) produced
through biotechnology. Consumers expressed an equally high (greater than 90
percent) likelihood of buying biotechnology-derived foods such as cooking
oil with reduced levels of saturated or trans fats or fresher and better
tasting tomatoes.

Plant biotechnology and sustainability

Consumers in the Philippines are also very positive towards plant
biotechnology if the technology is related to sustainable food production.

Although most of the consumers are not familiar with the concept of
sustainable food production, once the concept is explained, 84 percent of
the respondents believed sustainable food production is important. When
asked to rank seven factors related to sustainable food production,
Philippine consumers picked ?increasing the production of food staples in
the world, thereby reducing world hunger? as the most important factor, and
?increasing the productivity in the field and thus reducing production cost,
thereby reducing the cost of food? second.

Ninety-two percent of those surveyed said they support food production using
plant biotechnology if the technology delivers sustainable benefits.

Confidence in safety of food supply

The survey was conducted in July and August of 2008 and 71 percent of the
respondents indicated to be neutral to confident with the food safety level
in the country. When asked to rankspecific food safety concerns, Philippine
consumers indicated a rather high level of concern for many of the issues,
with food poisoning, pesticides residue, and improper handling of food
topping the list. Food biotechnology is much less of a concern compared to
other food safety issues with none of the respondents citing this as a top
of mind concern.

Food labeling

Almost three out of four respondents said they read food labels regularly.
The kind of information that Philippine consumers normally look for on food
labels include expiry date (most important information for 59 percent of the
consumers), vitamin content (mentioned by 13 percent of the consumers as the
most important info) and food additives (seven percent).

A majority of consumers (74 percent) state that there is no information they
would like to see added to food labels. Those who are not satisfied with the
current information on food labels said they would like to have additional
information about the content (presence of vitamins, minerals and other
basic ingredients) and expiration/production dates.

GM labeling is not a spontaneous labeling demand, none of the respondents
suggested presence of GM ingredients as an additional item to be included on
food labels.

Compared to the other surveyed countries, consumers in the Philippines
appear to be most knowledgeable about food biotechnology and the increased
awareness positively correlates with acceptance.

The survey also shows that crops produced through biotechnology do not
generate a high level of concern. In addition, although most Asian consumers
are not familiar with the concept of ?sustainable food production,? once the
concept is explained, a majority believe sustainable food production is
important and accept plant biotechnology if the technology contributes to a
more sustainable way of producing foods. Asian consumers are also ready to
accept nutritional benefits from biotechnology-derived foods. However,
specific benefits are linked to the dietary habits in each country.
Consumers from the food producing countries, China, India and the
Philippines, tend to be more positive about food biotechnology and the
benefits it can bring compared to consumers from Korea and Japan, where
local agricultural production is less important.

Methodology

AFIC commissioned The Nielsen Company Research to conduct a quantitative
assessment of adult consumer attitudes toward food biotechnology from July
15 to Aug. 15, 2008. The research was conducted via an on-line survey of
1007 adults, aged 18 to 64 years, and living in five major cities in five
different countries. The number of respondents for each city was: Beijing -
200; New Delhi - 204; Manila - 200; Seoul - 202 and Tokyo - 201.

Quotas were set to best reflect the demographic population in the cities.

About Asian Food Information Centre (AFIC) Singapore registered
not-for-profit organization, its mission is to effectively communicate
science-base information on food safety, nutrition and health information to
media, regulators, food/health professionals, and consumers in the Asia
region.

For more information visit the Asian Food Information Centre website
www.afic.org &
www.checkbiotech.org