Kellogg and Mars Begin GMO Nationwide Labeling Roll Out
24 Mar 2016 --- Mars and Kellogg have become the latest companies to specifically label products in the US which contain genetically modified organisms (GMO). The two US food giants are mirroring a move taken by General Mills and Campbell Soup and is likely to prompt others to follow suit.
GMO labeling is a controversial issue with consumer groups arguing that consumers need to be aware when products are genetically engineered.
Mars and Kellogg, like General Mills, said they were making the move in response to an impending new law in Vermont, in the US, which stipulates that certain products must carry GMO labeling.
Mars said on its website: “We firmly believe GM ingredients are safe. We’re also committed to being transparent.”
Mars believes that it will be more cost efficient and less laborious to roll out GMO labeling across the US as opposed to have separate labeling for Vermont, despite the state only being only a small market for Mars.
Kellogg president of North America Paul Norman said that just labeling products in Vermont would be “logistically unmanageable and even more costly for us and our consumers”.
Norman added: “At our core, Kellogg believes in transparency and that people should know what’s in their food and where it comes from.”
“There’s been a lot of talk over the past year about GMO ingredients because of the ongoing debate in Washington, D.C., and around the country about whether and how foods that contain genetically modified ingredients should be labeled.”
“As a company that sells food in every state, we know that an inconsistent patchwork of labeling laws like the one that goes into effect July 1 in the State of Vermont is confusing and will increase grocery costs for American families and our business.”
“We will continue to strongly urge Congress to pass a uniform, federal solution for the labeling of GMOs. In fact, we believe an agreement on one is achievable.”
“But until a federal solution is reached, and in order to comply with Vermont’s labeling law, we will start labeling some of our products nationwide for the presence of GMOs beginning in mid-to-late April. We chose nationwide labeling because a special label for Vermont would be logistically unmanageable and even more costly for us and our consumers.”
“We believe that transparency is more than just a label, and we have invested in many ways to make it easy for consumers to find information about our food. “
While these companies have taken a proactive stance in labeling products which contain GMO, others such as Hershey have not yet made the move.
General Mills said it wants to see national standardisation across the US when it comes to GMO labeling. Jeff Harmening, chief operating officer of retail at General Mills, said: “We can’t label our products for only one state without significantly driving up costs for our consumers.”
“The result: Consumers all over the US will soon begin seeing words legislated by the state of Vermont on the labels of many of their favorite General Mills products.”
“With the Vermont labeling upon us, and with the distinct possibility that other states will enact different labelling requirements, what we need is simple: We need a national solution.”
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