Healthy Tips

Tips for avoiding Genetically Modified (GMO) foods

How to avoid brands made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM) is the laboratory process  of artificially  manipulating  or inserting genes into the DNA of food crops or animals. The result is called a genetically modified organism or GMO. GMOs can be engineered with genes from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. Most Americans say they would not eat GMOs if labeled, but unlike most other industrialized countries, the U.S. does not require labeling.

Certified organic  products  are  not  allowed to  contain  any GMOs. Therefore, when you purchase products labeled “100% organic,” “organic,” or “made with organic” ingredients, all ingredients in these products are not allowed to be GMO. (For example,  products  labeled  as  “made with organic ingredients” only require 70% of the ingredients to be organic, but 100% must be non-GMO.)

Companies may voluntarily  label  products  as  “non-GMO.” Some labels state “non-GMO” while others spell out “Made Without Genetically  Modified Ingredients.”  Some products limit their claim to only one particular “At-Risk” ingredient such as soy lecithin, listing it as “non-GMO.”

Avoid products made with any of the crops that are GM. Most GM ingredients are products made from the “Big Four:” corn, soybeans, canola, and cottonseed, used in processed foods.

Some of the most common genetically engineered Big Four ingredients in processed foods are:

Soy flour, lecithin,protein isolate, and isoflavone
Vegetable oil* and vegetable protein*
Modified food starch

Corn flour, meal, oil, starch, gluten, and syrup
Sweeteners such as fructose, dextrose, and glucose
Modified food starch

Canola oil (also called rapeseed oil)

Cottonseed oil

In addition, GM sugar beets may soon enter the food supply. To avoid products containing GM beet sugar, look for products labeled as containing 100% cane  sugar, evaporated  cane juice, or products made with organic sugar.

This information has been excerpted from the Non-GMO Shopping Guide by the Center for Food Safety. Reclaim  your right to know about the foods you are buying, Find and avoid GMO foods and ingredients. Download complete pdf guide.