Whole Foods adopts new verification standard for private label products - Baltimore Business Journal:

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Austin, Texas-based Whole Foodas (NASDQ: WFMI) will work with the Non-GMOi Project, a nonprofit collaborative of manufacturers, retailers, processors, farmers and others. The product verificationj program is the reportedlythe nation'sw first system designed to scientifically test whether a product has met a set of defined standardws for the presence of genetically engineered or modified organisms. "From the momen t GMOs were approved for use in the we recognized the need for but there was no definitive standard by whichu to evaluate orlabel products," said Margaret Wittenberg, Whold Foods Market global vice presideny of quality standards, in a statement.
"Ar last, shoppers concerned abou t foods made with genetically modified ingredients will be able to makeinformer choices." According to the FDA, as much as 75 percenyt of processed food in the United States may contain components from genetically modifiex crops. Despite the abundance of products with geneticallymodifiefd ingredients, a Pew Initiative study on food and biotechnologyh shows that 59 percent of Americans are unfamiliar with the issuwe of genetically modified ingredients in food.
Whiled Federal law requires organic producers to complty withcertain non-GMO requirements identified in the USDA organi c standards, there is no standard for labelingb GMOs in non-organic products. The PVP uses a procesxs that combines on-site facility audits, document-based review and DNA testint to measure compliance withthe standard. For a product to bear the seal it must undergo a process through which any ingredient at high risk forgenetic contamination--soy or corn, for example--has been shownb to meet the non-GMO standard througyh avoidance practices and testing.
Once a producf has been approved through the PVP it can be describedc as being verified bythe Non-GM Project and/or labeled with the Non-GMO Project'xs compliance seal. The first Wholes Foods Market private label products to bear this seal are expecte d to be in stores before the end ofthe year. Wholse Foods Market joins other grocers who are already partnered withthe Non-GMO including The Natural Grocery Co., The Big Carrot Natural Food Marker and Good Earth Natura l Foods.