Pepsi Adding GMO Labels To Some Foods

Quietly Adding GMO Labels To Some Foods

We understand that the topic of GMOs is a hotly debated one and we know that not everyone agrees (although most of you Health Nuts do). However, the Vermont law requiring this information on food sold in that state is going into effect on July 1st. Mars, Campbell Soup and General Mills have all announced that they will implement new labels nationwide but PepsiCo appears to have already started, if you can spot it.

The verbiage they are using is, “Partially Produced With Genetic Engineering.”

What’s interesting is that while some companies put the label right on the front, almost as a banner or badge of honor, other companies worried that law makers were asking for the same thing. Opponents of the labels made the idea of GMO labeling out to be loud and invasive, however, if you look at that picture, Pepsi has been able to do it with no fanfare.

It’s not labeled in a tough to find spot but it doesn’t jump out at you, so you’ll need to continue to look for the words. See the picture below, it’s right there:

At this point, some mainstream news outlets have reached out to PepsiCo for comment but have not yet heard back from them. According to Consumerist, “…a Frito-Lay customer service rep did tell Consumers Union that the company does plan to label products on a nationwide basis, and that the “Partial” terminology can be used on any product that uses less than 75% of ingredients from GMO sources.”

Although this is good news, it is curious that they have made the change so quietly, but not if you understand that shortly after Vermont passed the labeling rules, a coalition of four trade groups filed a lawsuit. The Grocery Manufacturers’ Association, the Snack Food Association (Frito-Lay is a member), the International Dairy Foods Association, and the National Association of Manufacturers filed claiming that the labeling requirement is unconstitutional, and seeking an injunction which would bar Vermont from enforcing it.

From the article:

“As part of that lawsuit, Vermont attempted to subpoena records from three food producers (Frito-Lay, ConAgra, and Kellogg) and five agribusiness companies (Monsanto, Dow, DuPont, Bayer, and Syngenta).
The state is trying to get Frito-Lay to turn over the results of the company’s surveys on consumers’ attitudes toward the use of GMOs and “natural” food labels. Frito-Lay refused to comply with the subpoena, so in April the Vermont AG’s office filed a motion to compel the company to turn over the documents. That issue is now being hammered out before the federal court in Vermont.”

In April of 2015, the district court denied the trade groups’ request for an injunction, naturally the groups appealed that decision and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on the matter in Oct. 2015, but to date has still not issued a ruling.

We will continue to watch this story closely and will update you as soon as the Second Circuit Court of Appeals makes their decision. We have to celebrate these little victories and remember that this will likely be a long battle. In the mean time, use your best judgement about what you eat and what you serve your family. It’s likely that the big, well known snack and food companies largely use GMOs, but to be as sure as you can, select foods from companies on this list.