TOKYO - Kibun Food Chemifa Co Ltd , Japan's largest soybean milk maker, said yesterday it will stop using ingredients derived from genetically-modified (GM) corn in its soybean milk products by March next year.

The company plans to use rice bran oil as an substitute for corn oil and replace high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) with sugar, in an attempt to wipe out consumer doubts about the safety of foods containing GMOs, a Kibun official said. As for soybeans, all the crops Kibun uses to make soymilk are imports from China that are grown from non-GM seed varieties, the official said.

"We have decided to eliminate all the GM ingredients from soymilk products, which have marked double-digit growth for the past several years due to its image as a healthy drink," he said.

Kibun is using about 600 tonnes of HFCS and 300 tonnes of corn oil in its soymilk products for the current business year to March 31, 2000, he said.

Kibun accounts for about a 50 percent share in Japan's soymilk market worth some 17 billion yen this year, he said.

** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed for research and educational purposes only. **