Half of the 15,000 items certified by the Non GMO Project are already USDA certified organic
Here are some highlights from sessions on the Non-GMO Project certification process run by Global ID, the parent company to GMO DNA testing firm Genetic-ID, the non-GMO Project's technical administrator Foodchain-ID, and the food safety (and non-GMO) certification group Cert-ID.
- To date, 15,000 products have been certified by the Non-GMO Project, about half of which are already USDA certified organic. Collectively they represent $5bn in sales.
- The products were made by 1,400 companies encompassing 10,000 suppliers and 17,000 unique ingredients from 96 countries.
- EU labeling standards are different from those enshrined in the Non-GMO Project standard. For example, if your product uses GM processing aids, or contains dairy ingredients from cows fed GM feed, it would not have to feature a GMO label in the EU. However, you would not be able to gain certification under the Non-GMO Project.
- Testing must be done at the right time. Strip tests look for GMO proteins but won't work if the protein has been de-natured/destroyed, so certain non-GMO schemes only allow strip tests for testing seeds and grains, not processed foods.
- Meanwhile, PCR tests - which test GM DNA, are more sensitive, but some ingredients can be so highly refined that there is not any detectable DNA present, never mind protein.
- "I wouldn't say the writing is on the wall for GM crops," Global ID CEO Ken Ross told FoodNavigator-USA, "but big brands are listening to the signals in the marketplace and their antennae are up. If they haven't made any announcements yet, they are all doing the spadework behnd the scenes to see how feasible it would be [to switch to non-GMO ingredients in key brands]."
