UPDATE: Kellogg has become the fourth major manufacturer to announce it would label GM ingredients across its portfolio, according to Paul Norman, president of Kellogg North America, in a statement provided to Food Dive. In the statement, the company also urged Congress to come to a decision regarding a national labeling standard.
Dive Brief:
- Mars announced Monday it will soon label genetically modified ingredients directly on product packaging across its portfolio.
- In its announcement, Mars stands behind the safety of GM ingredients and its products that contain them.
- Mars uses GM ingredients in various ways, including "sugar from GM sugar beets, soy from GM soybeans and certain seasonings and spices that contain GM ingredients," Jonathan Mudd, global director of media relations at Mars, told Food Dive.
Dive Insight:
Mars follows just behind General Mills' announcement that it would label GMOs in its own product portfolio last week. Campbell Soup was the first to commit to GMO labeling back in January. One key difference among the announcements was that Campbell also voiced its support for mandatory GMO labeling legislation. In General Mills' announcement, the company called for a national standard; a spokeswoman later told Politico, "We stand firmly with [the Grocery Manufacturers Association] working on this issue in Washington." Mars avoided mentioning national GMO labeling legislation altogether, referring only to Vermont's law.
Major manufacturers have been vocal about supporting a voluntary GMO labeling policy. That policy was thought to possibly be heading in the direction of voluntary labeling, per the House's passage of such a bill last year. However, without enough Democratic support, a similar bill did not pass through the Senate last week.
One of voluntary GMO labeling supporters' main arguments also took a hit with these announcements. Supporters have emphasized the added costs that manufacturers and consumers would face if GMO labeling becomes mandatory. However, General Mills spent "millions of dollars [to change labels], which we are not passing on to the consumer," the spokeswoman also told Politico. Campbell also confirmed it would not pass its labeling costs onto the consumer.