(edited)
Demand for products that don't contain
genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, is exploding.
"We currently are at over $8.5 billion
in annual sales of verified products," said Megan Westgate,
executive director of the Non-GMO Project, the main supplier of
non-GMO labels.
To receive the label, a product has to be
certified as containing ingredients with less than 1 percent genetic
modification. Westgate says that's a realistic standard, while
totally GMO-free is not. She says natural foods stores began the
process of defining a standard, involving other interested players
along the way, including consumers.
But how does a company get into the
non-GMO game? They might call Food Chain ID, a company in Fairfield,
Iowa, that can shepherd them through the process. It's one of the
third-party auditors that certifies products for the Non-GMO
Project.
FoodChain ID has a lab where a machine can
extract the DNA from ingredient samples in order to analyze it. If
that test finds no evidence of GMOs, the ingredient can go in the
product. David Carter, FoodChair ID's manager, says he can barely keep
up with the number of inquiries coming in from companies that want
certification.
To date, FoodChain ID has verified 17,000
ingredients from 10,000 suppliers in 96 countries.
If the current trend continues, it seems
likely that some farmers will start considering going back to seeds
without GMOs.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM list, send any message to: