Dive Brief:
- General Mills will begin labeling products with GMO ingredients across the U.S., the company said.
- The company is making this change all over the country, as labeling products for just one state would raise costs for consumers, according to a company statement.
- General Mills is still advocating for an industrywide national solution.
Dive Insight:
This action comes after the Senate failed Wednesday to advance legislation for voluntary GMO labeling. The bill was originally proposed by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) last month. It failed to achieve the 60 votes needed to move to a final vote, with 49 senators voting yes and 48 voting no.
General Mills is following in Campbell Soup's footsteps in labeling GMOs in products, though it's worth noting General Mills' language in its blog post skirts an important distinction. It doesn't mention the words "mandatory" or "voluntary" labeling, a point of contention in the GMO labeling debate. However, a spokeswoman told Politico, "We stand firmly with [the Grocery Manufacturers Association] working on this issue in Washington." Campbell Soup took a clearer stance, supporting mandatory national labeling.
General Mills said that consumers can find GMO ingredient information on Ask.GeneralMills.com. The company recently said it anticipated hitting $1 billion in net sales from natural and organic products earlier than expected, by 2019.