AUSTIN, Texas—Whole Foods Market partnered with the Non-GMO Project, a nonprofit collaboration of manufacturers, retailers, processors, distributors, farmers, seed breeders and consumers, to use the Non-GMO's Product Verification Program (PVP) in connection with Whole Foods Market's private label products.
The PVP is the nation's first system designed to scientifically test whether a product has met a set of defined standards for the presence of genetically engineered organisms.
"From the moment GMOs were approved for use in the United States, we recognized the need for transparency, but there was no definitive standard by which to evaluate or label products," said Margaret Wittenberg, Whole Foods Market global vice president of quality standards. "We searched high and low for years for a way to do this and now, thankfully, the Non-GMO Project has answered that challenge by creating a standard and a practical system by which manufacturers may measure their products. At last, shoppers concerned about foods made with genetically modified ingredients will be able to make informed choices."
The PVP uses a process that combines on-site facility audits, document-based review and DNA testing to measure compliance with the standard. For a product to bear the seal, it must undergo a process through which any ingredient at high risk for genetic contamination - soy or corn, for example - has been shown to meet the non-GMO standard through avoidance practices and testing. Once a product has been approved through the PVP it can be described as being verified by the Non-GMO Project and/or be labeled with the Non-GMO Project's compliance seal. The first Whole Foods Market private label products to bear this seal are expected to be in stores before the end of the year.
While Federal law requires organic producers to comply with certain non-GMO requirements identified in the USDA organic standards, there is no standard for labeling GMOs in nonorganic products.
The Big Carrot Natural Food Market and Good Earth Natural Foods were two of the early partners of the Non-GMO Project. Companies that lent major support to the project and participated in the initial piloting of the PVP include Eden Foods, Organic Valley, Lundberg Family Farms, Nature's Path Organic and United Natural Foods Inc.