In the latest acceleration of the debate on labeling genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products, General Mills Chief Operating Officer Jeff Harmening on Friday said the packaged food giant would start labeling its products for all destinations in compliance with Vermont state law.
In a blog titled, “We need a national solution for GMO labeling,” Harmening said, “We can’t label our products for only one state without significantly driving up costs for our consumers and we simply will not do that.”
Harmening said all sides of this debate, 20 years of research, and every major health and safety agency in the world agree that GMOs are not a health or safety concern, but noted, “At the same time, we know that some consumers are interested in knowing which products contain GMO ingredients.”
Last week, the U.S. Senate voted not to invoke cloture on a bill by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) that would have pre-empted states’ rights to pass their own requirements for labeling foods containing GMOs among their ingredients. The vote’s failure essentially ended the bill’s progress through Congress.
Harmening said while the debate continues in Washington, General Mills has added a simple search tool on its website, found at Ask.GeneralMills.com, to provide GMO ingredient information for hundreds of its U.S. products, along with reference information.