Whole Foods Private Labels to Bear Non-GMO Seal

JULIE GALLAGHER

AUSTIN, Texas — Whole Foods Market is undergoing a process to verify that its private labels are worthy of a new, non-genetically modified organism seal.

The first of its kind compliance seal will be issued by the Non-GMO Project under its Product Verification Program. The seal makes its debut later this year.

Whole Foods is a member of the Non-GMO Project, a non-profit collaboration of retailers, manufacturers, farmers and others interested in defining a standard way of verifying that a product is free of GMOs. The PVP uses a process that combines on-site facility audits, document-based review and DNA testing to measure compliance with the standard.

The move makes Whole Foods’ corporate brands the first private labels, and the largest brands to seek verification under the program, Megan Thompson, executive director of the Non-GMO Project, told SN. Talks with other store brand manufacturers are in the works, added Thompson who could not provide specifics.

National brands like Nature’s Path Organic and Lundberg Family Farms also have items enrolled in the program.

“Since there is no U.S. regulation regarding disclosure on products manufactured with GMO ingredients, we are committed to helping our shoppers make confident choices by knowing that what they are buying has been verified as meeting the standards on the non-GMO project,” said Michael Besancon, senior global vice president of purchasing for Whole Foods, in a statement.

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