GMOs seem to be appearing in many foods these days, which is a scary thought. Now, recent studies reveal that even natural foods could be contaminated by these unnatural ingredients.
You’ve probably heard that when hygiene or makeup products are labelled ‘natural’, this doesn’t always mean they’re organic or safe. Well, that also seems to be the case with foods. A study by Consumer Reports recently discovered that the majority of U.S. packaged foods that have been labelled ‘natural’ contain large amounts of genetically modified ingredients.
In the study, over 80 processed foods containing soy or corn (these are the most genetically grown crops in the country) were surveyed to see if labelling claims of GMOs were accurate. The researchers made the shocking discovery that most of the foods carrying ‘natural’ labels contained GMOs. These included chips, infant formula and breakfast cereals. The safe foods were those listed as ‘non-GMO’ and/or ‘organic.’ This study reveals how consumers have been misinformed into thinking they are choosing healthy products when they’re really not.
It’s important to know that it’s not just corn and soy that are GMO targets. GMOs can be hidden in processed food ingredients, such as aspartame, citric acid, ‘natural’ or ‘artificial’ flavouring, sodium citrate, sodium ascorbate, ascorbic acid, amino acids, high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin and xanthan gum.
The best way to prevent consuming GMO foods is to change your shopping choices. Opting for organic foods is safer. When produce is grown organically, this prevents GMO contaminants from the ground up – for example, no GMO seeds can be planted and no cows raised organically will be fed GMO foods. Just make sure that foods are labelled ‘certified organic’ so you can dig in without the doubt.
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