Canadian Flax Seed Update
Posted on October 29th, 2009 under flax, news.
Recently, the European Union, which does not accept genetically modified flax, has found flaxseed contaminated with the genetically modified Triffid gene in several Canadian shipments. This has generated media coverage and is impacting trade with the EU in that all flax shipments will be required to have proof they are not contaminated. We want to assure you that the organic flax used in Nature’s Path products has been fully tested and thus far has shown absolutely no GMO contamination. From the outset, we at Nature’s Path have taken a very strong stand against the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), also known as genetically engineered (GE) crops, because we regard GMOs as a great risk to the safety of our food supply, even though most of the world’s corn, soy and canola are now GE. Organic certification itself prohibits the use of GMOs. We are a founding member of the Non-GMO Project, which has audited our ingredients for potential GMO risks, and flaxseeds were not considered high risk. However, in light of this situation, we have taken the extra step of working with our supply chain to have lots of our flaxseeds tested by a third party and they have tested negative for GMO contamination. In fact, to date, no organic flax has tested positive for GMO contamination in North America. You can feel confident that we at Nature’s Path are committed to producing exceptional, high quality, non-GMO products and will continue to test and monitor the situation. As always, we hold the health of our customers, along with quality and food safety, as our top priorities.
