Health food enthusiasts nationwide were livid after learning that a popular brand of “natural” cereal could contain genetically modified ingredients.
The food fiasco began after a Rhode Island grocery store, The Green Grocer, removed Kellogg‘s (NYSE:K) Kashi brand cereals from its shelves and posted the following note explaining that the products contain GMOs:
“You might be wondering where your favorite Kashi cereals have gone. It has recently come to our attention that 100% of the soy used in Kashi products is Genetically Modified, and that when the USDA tested the grains used there were found to be pesticides that are known carcinogens and hormone disruptors.”
Pictures of the note rapidly circulated through various social media channels as disgruntled consumers lashed out on blogs, Twitter and the company’s Facebook page.
One angry customer wrote, “It makes me SICK to think that I have been allowing you to use my family for your science project. It makes me sick that you LIED for YEARS. I could cry over this… GMO’s are not natural.”
In response to the backlash, Kashi has used the same social media sites to proclaim its innocence and commitment to “evolving the food system.”
In a video segment posted on the company’s Facebook page on April 25, Keegan Sheridan, a Kashi nutritionist, said that the information circulating around the Internet is “inaccurate.” She then went on to admit that there could be GMOs in some Kashi products that contain soy. Sheridan was quick to shake the blame off of Kashi and onto common North American agricultural practices.
“While it’s likely that some of our foods contain GMOs, the main reason for that is because in North America well over 80% of many crops, including soy beans, are grown using GMOs, Sheridan said. “Factors outside our control such as pollen drift from nearby crops and current practices in agricultural storage, handling and shipping, have led to an environment where GMOs are not sufficiently controlled.”
Today, Kashi said in a press release that beginning in 2015, all of its products will contain at least 70% organic ingredients and be Non-GMO Project Verified.
While some Kashi fans seem to be appeased by the new efforts, others are not impressed and view the response as a PR stunt.
One consumer wroteon Kashi’s Facebook page, “70% is not organic, 70% organic is an attempt to hide the 30% that is not.”
