| USA TODAY | - |
Under
pressure from consumers and activist groups, General Mills says it will
stop using genetically modified ingredients to make its original
Cheerios cereal.
BUSINESS
--
January 3, 2014 at 12:33 PM ET
GMO-free Cheerios coming to a supermarket near you
Cheerios swaps out cornstarch for sugar to make Original Cheerios GMO-free. Photo by Flickr user YayBiscuts123The next time you head to the supermarket cereal aisle you may find a Cheerios box labeled "Not Made With Genetically Modified Ingredients."
Cheerios producer General Mills announced Thursday that Original Cheerios made without genetically modified ingredients, GMOs, will start appearing on shelves soon. Other Cheerios flavors, including Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and Multi Grain Cheerios, will still contain GMOs.
Original Cheerios made in Europe are already GMO-free, AFP reports, but, in the U.S., the breakfast cereal contains cornstarch from GMO corn, which the company will swap for sugar.
"We were able to do this with original Cheerios because the main ingredients are oats," General Mills company spokesman Mike Siemienas told the AP.
Non-profit organization Green America started a campaign in 2012 called "GMO Inside", urging companies to make foods GMO-free.
The campaign included 40,000 posts from consumers on Facebook that asked General Mills to make Cheerios GMO-free.
"Removing GMOs from original Cheerios is an important victory in getting GMOs out of our food supply and an important first step for General Mills," Green America Corporate Responsibility Director Todd Larsen wrote in a statement on the GMO Inside website. "(T)his victory sends a message to all food companies that consumers are increasingly looking for non-GMO products and companies need to meet that demand."
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