General Mills announced it will no longer use genetically engineered ingredients in Cheerios. The company says it will stop sourcing bioengineered starch and sugar for original-flavor Cheerios. The cereal’s sugar has been derived from beets, most of which were genetically modified, but Cheerios will now be sweetened with cane sugar. The main ingredient in Cheerios, whole grain oats, is not an issue since genetically modified oats are not available in the US.
The new boxes, labeled “not made with genetically modified ingredients,” will begin appearing on store shelves in mid-January, according to a blog post by Tom Forsythe, vice president of global communications for General Mills.