EUGENE, Ore.–So Delicious Dairy Free® Coconut Milk Beverage received a Non-GMO Project Certification from the Non-GMO Project. Turtle Mountain, manufacturer of So Delicious Dairy Free® foods, expects the rest of the lines in its product portfolio to achieve Non-GMO Project certification and bear the program’s mark on its packaging by the end of 2010.
“As a leader in the natural foods industry, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our practices, lesson our environmental impact, and provide consumers with accurate information regarding the sourcing of these foods,” says John Tucker, senior vice president of marketing and technology at Turtle Mountain. “We are proud to receive this status and gratified to see the industry move in this direction with such consensus.”
The Non-GMO Project is a nonprofit organization, created by leaders representing all sectors of the organic and natural products industry in the U.S. and Canada, to offer consumers a consistent non-GMO choice for organic and natural products that are produced without genetic engineering or recombinant DNA technologies.
The Project began as an initiative of independent natural foods retailers who were interested in providing customers with more information regarding the GMO risk of their products. With the help of technical consultants and industry leaders, the Non-GMO Project created a collaborative non-GMO third-party verification program that began enrolling products in the fall of 2008. Working at every level of the supply chain, all the way back to the seeds, the Project’s role is to inspire and ensure viable non-GMO alternatives long into the future.
Manufactured food products that have been through this rigorous process may display a “Non-GMO Project Verified” seal, which means that the item has been produced according to best practices for GMO avoidance.
Genetic engineering is the practice of altering genetic blueprints of food products to enhance specific traits, such as increased resistance to pesticides or disease. Although genetically modified foods can improve yield and other crop characteristics, a growing number of consumers fear the technology used to create genetically modified foods is unpredictable and poses a potential threat to human health and the environment.