Ten more companies join the Non-GMO Project

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Ten more companies join the Non-GMO Project

UNFI letter spurs more interest in non-GMO verification

Ten more companies are having their products verified non-GMO in the Non-GMO Project’s Product Verification Program. The companies are buttery spread manufacturer, Earth Balance; Endangered Species Chocolate; salad dressing manufacturer, Follow Your Heart; baked goods manufacturer, Mary’s Gone Crackers; Sunset Produce; organic grain suppliers, Grain Place Foods and North Pacific; tofu-maker, Pulmone Wildwood; botanical extract manufacturer, Ethical Naturals; and beverage maker, O.N.E. Natural Experience.

With the ten new additions, the number of companies participating in the Non-GMO Project now totals more than 30 with more than 850 products being verified non-GMO. The number of products enrolled in non-GMO verification has more than doubled in the past three months.

Three recent actions spurred increased interest in the Non-GMO Project, says project executive director Megan Westgate. Last June Whole Foods Market announced that it would enroll its private label products in the project. In August, the project was featured in a front-page article in the New York Times. Then in September, Michael Funk, chairman of United Natural Foods, Inc., sent a letter to his company’s suppliers encouraging them to participate in the project. Funk wrote, “It’s important to UNFI that the products we sell are non-GMO. The best guarantee of this to us is for you to enroll in the Non-GMO Project.”

“We’ve seen tremendous growth in both inquiries and enrollment over the last couple of months—the Project is really taking off,” Westgate says. “Every new company that comes on board impacts the supply chain...the collective effect is that non-GMO is becoming a clear focus for everyone in the natural and organic products industry.”