PepsiCo’s Tropicana ‘Non-GMO’ Seal Is “Disingenuous”

For Immediate Release
December 11, 2015

PepsiCo’s Tropicana ‘Non-GMO’ Seal Is “Disingenuous”

WASHINGTON– The move by PepsiCo to include a non-GMO seal Tropicana Pure Premium and four other PepsiCo products is “completely disingenuous,” according to the following statement from Gary Hirshberg, Chairman of Just Label It.

PepsiCo is being completely disingenuous by choosing to label a handful of products ‘GMO free’ while refusing to let consumers know which of its other products contain GMOs. Worse, the company has spent $9 million over the past two years on campaigns to fight state mandatory GMO-labeling, as well as more than $11 million lobbying Congress to pass legislation to block these state efforts and prevent FDA mandatory labeling of GMOs.

PepsiCo’s latest PR stunt shows why there must be a national, mandatory standard for the disclosure of GMO foods and ingredients. Labeling that is done only at the whim of companies and only on a handful of products as part of a marketing ploy shows a blatant disregard for consumer choice. Food producers have been allowed to use labels disclosing the presence of GMOs since 2001, but neither PepsiCo nor any other major company has chosen to act.

By placing a ‘non-GMO’ seal on some products, PepsiCo acknowledges that consumers have a right to know what’s in their food. Tropicana’s own vice president and brand general manager explained the Tropicana announcement by stating, ‘Consumers today have a desire for transparency from brands, and that desire is only going to increase.’ This is something the Just Label It campaign has long known to be true as national surveys consistently show that 9 in 10 Americans want to know whether their food contains GMOs. This is the reason why 64 other countries require food companies to label GMOs.

PepsiCo has elected to label just a few select items “GMO free” but consumers have no way of knowing about the GMO-contents of the hundreds of other products produced under the company’s 22 brands. If PepsiCo wants to be truly transparent and honest with parents, families, and consumers across the country, the company should stop funding anti-GMO labeling efforts and come to the table and discuss ways to label all products that contain GMOs.

For additional information visit www.JustLabelIt.org.

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Contact: press@justlabelit.org