The production of products in our diverse food portfolio requires the use of a wide range of ingredients and additives. We continue to monitor industry best practices and will note any updates to ingredients as they apply to our products in the future.
Technological advancements continue to drive beneficial changes in many of the ingredients that go into our products, including crop and vegetable components.
GMOs
Providing consumers with safe products is the No. 1 priority at Hormel Foods. We understand that consumers may have questions about genetically modified food ingredients, more commonly referred to as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
The use of genetically modified ingredients is not only safe for people and our planet, but also has a number of important benefits.
Many of the most influential regulatory agencies and organizations that study the safety of the food supply have found GMO food ingredients to be safe, with no negative health effects associated with their use. This includes the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, Health Canada, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Academy of Sciences.
This technology adds desirable traits from nature without introducing anything unnatural or using chemicals, so that food is more plentiful.
This technology is not new. In fact, it has been around for the past 20 years. Today, 70 to 80 percent of the foods we eat in the United States, both at home and away from home, contain ingredients that have been genetically modified. If the ingredient label on any food or beverage product contains corn or soy, it most likely contains GMO ingredients, as a very high percentage of crops grown in the United States use GM technology. A high percentage of other ingredients in the United States, such as sugar beets, are grown with the use of GM technology as well.
Ingredients grown using genetically modified technology require fewer pesticides and less water. In addition, they keep production costs down. In fact, this technology helps reduce the price of crops such as corn, soybeans and sugar beets by as much as 15 to 30 percent. Hunger is a major problem worldwide, with more than 10 percent of the population having less than enough to eat. Safe and effective methods of food production, including crops produced through GM technology, can help us feed the hungry and malnourished in developing nations around the world.
Hormel Foods will continue to advocate for the continued safe and effective use of agricultural biotechnology to increase the food supply and lower costs. We will also continue to engage in an informative dialogue with our consumers so they understand the safety, prevalence and benefits of this technology and can make informed choices for themselves and their families.
For consumers who are interested in alternative choices, we offer our Applegate® product portfolio, which is GMO-ingredient free.