Lundberg Products among the first to become “non-gmo verified”
Enrollment in Non-GMO Project Nears 3000 Products
RICHVALE, CA, January 6, 2010 – Lundberg Family Farms announced today that 66 of their products are among the first products to be officially “Non-GMO Verified” by the Non-GMO Project. The “Non-GMO Verified” seal means that verified Lundberg products have been produced according to rigorous best practices for GMO avoidance, which includes testing of risk ingredients.
“It is very important for the consumer to have an educated choice between food containing GMO’s and those that are Non-GMO,” says Grant Lundberg, CEO of Lundberg Family Farms. “It has been my pleasure to work with the Non-GMO Project and like minded members of the natural foods community to draft the first comprehensive Non-GMO standards in the United States. I could not be prouder that Lundberg Family Farms is among the first companies to have our products officially verified.”
Grant Lundberg serves as one of eleven governing members of the Non-GMO Project’s board of directors that has been involved in initiating, funding, and writing standards for the Non-GMO Project since its inception. The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit 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. As the Project evolved, it became clear that in order for the initial vision of standardized labeling to be possible, a 3rd party verification program was needed that would identify products compliant with a uniform, consensus-based definition of non-GMO. With the help of technical consultants FoodChain Global Advisors, and fueled by the passion of a dynamic array of industry leaders, the Non-GMO Project has successfully created a collaborative non-GMO verification program that began enrolling products in the fall of 2008.
Companies enrolled in the Non-GMO Project are serious about keeping GMOs out, and work hard to do so. While many products make claims regarding their GMO status (e.g. “GMO free”), these are not legally or scientifically defensible, and are not verified by a third party. The Non-GMO Project is the only organization offering independent verification of testing and GMO controls for products in the U.S. and Canada. To date enrollment in the program is close to 3,000 products from over 50 brands. Visit www.lundberg.comto view a list of Lundberg Family Farms products that have been Non-GMO Verified.
About Lundberg Family Farms
Since 1937, the Lundberg family has been growing healthy, great tasting rice while respecting and sustaining the earth. Today, the third generation carries on the family heritage by using eco-positive farming methods that produce wholesome, healthful rice, rice cakes, rice chips and risottos while improving and protecting the environment for generations to come.