UPDATE 3-Nihon Shokuhin to import 150,000 tonnes US GMO corn

(Recasts the first para, adds details at end)

By Risa Maeda

TOKYO, April 16 (Reuters) - Japanese starch maker Nihon Shokuhin Kako Co (2892.T) confirmed on Wednesday it had begun filtering GMO corn into some foodstuffs, risking a backlash from consumer groups to make up a possible shortage of GMO-free corn.

Nihon Shokuhin, one of Japan's top three corn processors, said it would purchase a total 150,000 tonnes of U.S. genetically modified corn in 2008 for food and non-food use, a company spokesman said.

The majority of the imports is still for paper and other non-food uses. Such users continue to prefer GMO crops, whose harvesting yields are higher and whose prices are cheaper than non-GMO crops.

But in a significant change in the company's policy, part of an unseparated cargo from the United States in February was also used to produce syrup for drink makers, the spokesman said.

"We've stepped up the usage of GMO corn since February to meet the needs of some of our customers, namely beverage makers," the spokesman said.

"If we continue to use non-GMO corn alone, we would be forced to stop supplying customers requesting only non-GMO corn given its scarcity," he said.

Japan, the world's largest corn importer, has long bought GMO corn for animal feed but buys only a trickle for human food use due to consumer concerns over the safety of GMO crops.

But Japanese food makers have been caught between U.S. farmers demanding a higher premium for GMO-free corn and Japanese grocers and shoppers. [ID:nSP9924]

Nihon Shokuhin has two corn processing factories in Japan, using a total 750,000 tonnes of corn a year. The remaining 600,000 tonnes planned for 2008 will be GMO-free crops, the spokesman said.

The company's announcement came after South Korea, one of only two countries in Asia to stick with non-GMO corn for food use, said in late February that it would import 50,000 tonnes of U.S. genetically altered corn in May for manufacturing starch and sweeteners.

In March, Nihon Shokuhin declined to comment on whether it would use GMO corn for food use this year.

On Wednesday, the company and importer Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T), Nihon Shokuhin's parent, confirmed the February shipment of a cargo from the United States, but declined to comment on the amount.

Until recently, most corn processors have used only non-GMO crops to produce corn starch and corn syrup, a widely used sweetener, as some customers, mainly beer and drug makers, refuse to use GMOs.

But smaller corn processors have already used unseparated cargoes, taking advantage of lax labelling laws for small quantities of raw materials in foods in Japan.

Pro-GMO pundits argue that the process to turn corn starch into syrup makes protein content in the product negligible. (Editing by Peter Blackburn)