All products on sale at Whole Foods Market stores in the US and Canada will have to show whether they contain GM ingredients.
The US natural and organic retailer has said all product labels will include the information by 2018. It claimed it was the first “national grocery chain to set a deadline for full GMO transparency”.
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Co-CEO Walter Robb said: “We are putting a stake in the ground on GMO labeling to support the consumer’s right to know. The prevalence of GMOs in the US paired with non-existent mandatory labelling makes it very difficult to select non-GMO products. We are increasing our support of organic, and we are working with our supplier partners to grow our non-GMO supply chain to ensure we can continue to provide these choices in the future.”
Genetic modification is a hot issue in the US. Consumer groups have pushed for more information on whether products contain GM ingredients. In November, a vote was held in California on whether food including GM ingredients should be labelled. However, a majority of Californians rejected the plans, with 53% voting against the initiative.
