Taipei City meal catering vendors say meal fees need only rise by 5 yuan to supply non-GMO soybeans and corn

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said recently that schools may raise nutrition lunch prices, by no more than 10 yuan, but did not require the full adoption of non-GMO products. The Taipei City Catering Food Commercial Trade Association held a general membership meeting yesterday and resolved that for schools where group meal operators contract out lunch, as long as each meal is raised by more than 5 yuan, non-GMO soybeans and corn can be fully supplied starting in September; currently about half of Taipei's junior high and elementary schools have nutrition lunch provided by group meal operators.

Taipei group meal vendors: just raise 5 yuan and we will use non-GMO soybeans and corn

The price of nutrition lunch at Taipei's junior high schools is about 50~55 yuan per meal, and at elementary schools about 45~50 yuan. Chen Ming-hsin, chairman of the Taipei City Catering Food Commercial Trade Association, said non-GMO ingredients cost about 30~35% more, mainly soy products. At present each school has about four soy product dishes per week, so to fully use non-GMO ingredients, each school would need to raise prices by 5 yuan.

If schools insist on not raising prices, will non-GMO ingredients simply not be supplied? Chen Ming-hsin said the group meal suppliers and the schools must coordinate this on their own.

At yesterday's meeting, the association resolved that if non-GMO products are used, the association will jointly purchase from Fwusow Industry, with the source being the United States; to ensure that students eat "real" non-GMO food, it will commission the Corporate Synergy Development Center to establish a "Taipei City Campus Food Ingredient Supply Management Audit Center." Non-GMO products entering campuses must first be reviewed, contracted, traced to their source and have their production process visited, and inspection reports will be published every quarter.

The Taipei City Catering Food Commercial Trade Association is made up of group meal operators, meaning that only schools supplied by group meal operators are covered by the above rules.

Chen Ming-hsin said that Taipei currently has about 130 junior high schools and 100 elementary schools. Junior high schools are almost 100% supplied by Taipei group meal operators, while elementary schools are only about 12%, with the rest mostly public schools operated by private contractors, and the contractors for these are almost all from New Taipei City.

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je signed a pledge before the election to "use non-GMO ingredients in campus lunches," but after taking office did not set out a clear timetable. Huang Chia-lin, a member of "Campus Lunch Goes Non-GMO," said she welcomes the vendors' goodwill. "This is a positive interaction," she said. Campus lunch costs should reasonably reflect costs, and she hopes other counties and cities will follow suit, assess feasibility, and at the same time make funding and ingredients transparent.

Huang Chia-lin also called on schools that use GMO products to at least clearly label them on their websites so parents can see them at a glance, as the Ministry of Health and Welfare requires that all loose GMO foods be labeled after June.