One more cereal will be free of genetically modified (GMO) ingredients. Post Foods' Grape-Nuts Original cereal will now be Non-GMO Project verified.
The company posted the following statement on its website: “Grape-Nuts Original still contains the signature crunch, wholesome ingredients, and 49g of whole grains you know and love. And now the Non-GMO Project seal will appear on our box, confirming our recipe and suppliers do not contain GMO ingredients.”
GMO Inside, a campaign by the advocacy group Green America stated in a press release that Post Foods responded to a request from them, and wrote the following statement: “We have an exciting update for you. Post has released a non-GMO verified Grape Nuts that is on the store shelves as of January, 2014. Also, we are exploring some of our other cereals to see if there is potential going forward to add more non-GMO verified products to the Post Foods product line. We are always listening to our consumers and looking for ways to provide a good variety of products.”
GMO Inside is naturally thrilled that Grape-Nuts Original will be free from GMOs. “GMO Inside thanks Post for removing GMOs from Grape-Nuts Original and congratulates them for doing it right with third party verification,” said Green America GMO Inside Campaign Director Nicole McCann. “We’re glad Post is also considering removing GMOs from other cereals and look forward to seeing them on the shelves, and we would also love to see Post supporting mandatory GMO labeling.”
The brand director for Grape-Nuts, Mangala D’Sa told Supermarket News that the company has “confirmed that our recipe and suppliers do not contain GMO ingredients, and the Non-GMO Project seal will appear on boxes of Grape-Nuts Original on store shelves.” D’Sa added, “Grape-Nuts Original still contains the signature crunch, ingredients, and 49g of whole grains known and loved for more than a century."
Earlier this month, competing cereal brand General Mills announced the removal of GMOs from its original Cheerios cereal. General Mills made the announcement after being pressured for over a year by consumers to remove GMOs from Cheerios. GMO Inside launched a campaign in November 2012 that asked consumers to put pressure on the company to remove GMOs from Cheerios.
Read more about non-GMO Cheerios
Image: stu_spivack