Whole Foods sets five-year deadline for GMO labeling

Whole Foods Market will label all products in US and Canadian stores to indicate whether they contain genetically modified organisms by 2018. Whole Foods will be the first national grocery chain to announce a deadline for GMO transparency. "The prevalence of GMOs in the U.S. paired with nonexistent mandatory labeling makes it very difficult to select non-GMO products,” said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods. “We are increasing our support of organic, and we are working with our supplier partners to grow our non-GMO supply chain to ensure we can continue to provide these choices in the future." In 2009, Whole Foods began putting its private-label brand, 365 Value, through Non-GMO Project verification and encouraged suppliers to do the same.