Photo credit: Brian Green
The corn ingredients include grits, meals, flours and whole grains that may be used in a range of packaged foods, including cereal, savory snacks, baked foods and batters/breadings. Bunge will offer its Non-GMO Project verified canola oil and soybean oil under its Whole Harvest brand.
“Many of our customers are seeking verified non-GMO ingredients that are also minimally processed, and our Whole Harvest brand of canola and soybean oils meet this need,” said Anthony Williams, vice-president of sales and marketing for Bunge North America, St. Louis, U.S.
“Our Whole Harvest brand is simply different. It delivers confidence and transparency through being Non-GMO Project verified, as well as being expeller-pressed and minimally refined, which helps our customers better leverage the clean label trend across a wide range of food products.”
Bunge also is pursuing Non-GMO Project verification for its ancient grains, rice, gluten-free breadings, and puffed and expanded snacks. A Bunge facility in Crete, Nebraska, U.S., already is Non-GMO Project verified. A dry corn mill in Danville, Illinois, U.S., is undergoing project verification. Bunge has contracted with farmers for non-bioengineered/non-GMO acres surrounding both facilities.
“Market research suggests 40% of consumers are actively managing consumption of GMO foods in their daily diets,” said Mark Stavro, senior director of marketing for North America. “Our recently expanded non-GMO offerings will create business opportunities for our customers by allowing them to extend non-GMO options to their customers in product categories where it is in high demand, while still maintaining the high quality they have come to expect of Bunge ingredients.”
The Non-GMO Project, a non-profit organization based in Bellingham, Wash., works to preserve and build the non-GMO food supply, educate consumers and provide verified non-GMO choices. Nearly 35,000 products from more than 2,500 brands now have Non-GMO Project verification. The products represent $16 billion in annual sales, according to the Non-GMO Project.