As of January 1, 2022, manufacturers must disclose products containing detectable genetic material from GMOs through the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard. They can do so by displaying a text statement, symbol, text message instructions, or a QR code—those little square codes that you see on airline boarding passes—on the package. Unfortunately, there are numerous loopholes, and most products that contain GMOs will not have to be labeled under the new law. The main issue is that the law only requires declaration of GMOs at detectable levels. The modified genetic material is often rendered undetectable in ingredients and foods from GMOs that are highly refined, and therefore they don’t have to be labeled as GMO.¹  For instance, soy oil from genetically modified soybeans will not likely be labeled as GM, nor will corn syrup from GMO corn, or sugar from GMO sugar beets, etc. Confusingly, the law also uses the term bioengineered (BE) instead of the more commonly used genetically modified (GM); statements such as Bioengineered food and Contains a bioengineered food ingredient indicate GMOs. Because of the many loopholes and vagaries of the new standard, consumers are still not getting the clear GM label declaration they deserve. To avoid GMOs, you are still better off choosing organic or non-GMO third party verified products, especially in foods that carry a high risk of containing GMOs, like corn chips, salad dressing, frozen and packaged foods, soy milk, and anything that contains added sugar. And just to be clear, if you see one of these statements or symbols on a product that wasn’t there before January 1, 2022, it does not mean the product has been reformulated to include GMOs, but rather that these ingredients were always present in the product and are now being disclosed due to the new labeling standards.

Nearly all grocery stores in the U.S. sell food that contains GMOs. GMOs are incredibly pervasive—more than 70% of packaged foods in the U.S. contain them. However, at Natural Grocers we carry a wide selection of products that do not contain GMOs, including over 9,000 Non-GMO Project Verified products, over 10,000 organic grocery products, and all of our private label prepackaged bulk. In addition, 100% of the produce we sell is USDA Certified Organic, which means that you never need to worry about our produce being GMO.

Natural Grocers is continuously reviewing products thoroughly to avoid bringing in new products containing GMOs and have asked existing vendors to replace GMO ingredients with comparable non-GMO substitutes. We’re currently identifying brands that do not have clear GMO language/labeling on products by contacting vendors and reviewing them individually to confirm their GMO status. From there we will strongly encourage manufacturers to reformulate and we will discontinue brands who indicate no plan to label GMOs. It’s a process that takes time and, as always, we’re actively working with vendors to provide accurate and clear labels as part of our mission to be transparent with our loyal and informed customers.

There are grocery items that will be exempt from this labelling requirement due to their nature and ingredients. This includes products like water, honey, and other products that naturally do not come from GMO sources. We will also not require GMO labelling on grocery items that contain animal products, such as bread that contains eggs, declaring whether the eggs used in the creation of the bread came from chickens fed non-GMO feed. The main goal of this program is to address problematic ingredients and make customers aware of how the ingredients found in their grocery items were sourced.

Lastly, we are very proud of our private label products and hold them to the highest possible standards—meaning all of our Natural Grocers Brand offerings will be organic and/or non-GMO whenever possible. This includes all our prepackaged bulk as well, which is 100% non-GMO with over 100 products Non-GMO Project Verified.

References

1. Agricultural Marketing Service. (July 2019). National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard: BE Fact Sheet. United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/be/regulated-entities