Smart Balance Removes the GMOs

Consumers in search of non-GMO alternatives can now find Smart Balance non-GMO buttery spreads in grocery stores nationwide. The brand announced the planned transition of its entire product line to non-GMO in March – the first leading national spread to go non-GMO. This week it is being shipped to national and regional grocery stores across the country. Distribution will continue ramping up in May, with a complete transition this summer. Smart Balance, owned by Colorado-based Boulder Brands, revamped its ingredients sourcing and manufacturing processes in response to growing consumer demand for non-GMO products. The new Smart Balance delivers the same delicious, buttery taste and nutritional benefits with no increase in price to customers. “We are delivering on our promise to make non-GMO Smart Balance widely available and importantly, without raising the cost to retailers who sell our product,” says Duane Primozich, executive vice president of Smart Balance and Balance Brands. “We wholeheartedly agree with consumers and advocates who support greater transparency in food ingredients, and who want healthier, less processed foods with simpler ingredients.” Grocery shoppers will find the Smart Balance square tubs bearing a prominent “non-GMO” label and pledge. The pledge outlines the commitment to make Smart Balance using only non-GMO ingredients, including expeller-pressed oils from non-GMO seeds. Smart Balance also has taken steps to reduce risk of contact with GMO-containing ingredients in its manufacturing facilities, including adding new processing equipment and storage. “Getting our flagship spread product – now non-GMO – to consumers across the country is an important milestone on our journey to convert the entire Smart Balance product line,” says Primozich. “At Boulder Brands, we embrace and support the burgeoning consumer movement toward deeper understanding of what’s in – and importantly, what’s not in – the foods that we serve our families.” Launched in 1997 Smart Balance was the first leading spread to eliminate partially hydrogenated oils, a major source of trans fat, which the FDA recently declared unsafe and has proposed banning from U.S. food products. Smart Balance uses a unique blend of non-GMO oils in its spreads that are clinically proven to help balance cholesterol ratios as part of the Smart Balance Food Plan.