In another big win against GMOs, Hellmann's, a Unilever company, announced two new non-GMO product lines, following pressure from Green America's GMO Inside campaign.
Hellmann’s announced a new organic mayonnaise and Hellmann’s “Carefully Crafted” egg-free dressing and sandwich spread. Both products are made with non-GMO ingredients. The announcement of Hellmann's non-GMO mayo and spread follows the introduction of Hellman’s non-GMO olive oil mayonnaise last year. Parent company Unilever is the world's third largest food and consumer products company.
Hellmann’s USDA certified organic mayonnaise is made with all organic ingredients including organic/non-GMO and cage-free eggs. Hellmann’s “Carefully Crafted” sandwich spread is an egg-free, and cholesterol-free spread made with non-GMO ingredients.
“As the third largest food and consumer goods company in the world, Unilever has a responsibility to operate in a way that is environmentally sustainable and healthy for consumers,” said Michael Stein, Food Campaigns Manager for Green America. “By offering organic and non-GMO Hellmann’s products, Unilever has made an important step towards this end and is listening to the demands of the 21st century consumer.”
Green America's Non-GMO Campaign
GMO Inside, a campaign led by Green America, began educating consumers in 2014 about GMOs in mayonnaise. Because Hellmann’s is such an iconic mayonnaise brand, thousands of consumers reached out to Hellmann’s to ask the company to go non-GMO. In response, Hellmann’s began offering a non-GMO mayonnaise made with olive oil in May 2015. Unilever’s latest announcement follows Campbell's announcement of more non-GMO and organic products last year and call for mandatory labeling in January 2016.
Momentum in the food industry's response to consumer demand for healthier food is growing rapidly. In addition to Hellmann's and Campbell's, GMO Inside has also been successful in moving General Mills to offer non-GMO original Cheerios, Similac to offer non-GMO infant formula, and Hershey to switch to non-GMO sugar for some of its candy products.
“Consumer demand for organic and non-GMO products has been skyrocketing,” said John Roulac, CEO of Nutiva and co-chair of the GMO Inside Campaign. “As more people are becoming concerned with the ingredients in the food they eat and how it is made, it will be important for other companies to follow Unilever’s lead and offer organic and non-GMO options.”
