Kraft Claims To Be In The Dark About GMO Mac & Cheese Warning Labels
Warning labels that have been slapped across Kraft's Mac & Cheese boxes in Britain have drawn unyielding attention and concern for what the ingredients actually contain. The labels warn the comfort food favorite "may contain GMO" and "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children."
Kraft spokesperson, Lynne Galia, claimed that they have no authorized distributor in Britain and that anyone claiming that the wheat in Kraft Mac & Cheese is wrong.
A close up of the food label's warning went viral after Flo Wrighston Cross, a London student, posted the photo on Facebook. As a frequent purchaser of the questionable Kraft product, Wrighston found the stickered label at a Tesco grocery store, and was surprised by how quickly her photo circulated.
Tesco spokesperson said Tesco was just as surprised by the label as Kraft was and it intends to work with Kraft on this issue. The guilty labeler may be the distributer, Innovative Bites, who has not commented on the increasing issue.
The European Union's policy on GMOs is to, "Keep it out. The risk of genetically modified foods to health and the environment outweigh the benefits." The same thought carries in many places around the world, and those countries will not accept genetically modified food imports. Considering the United States is the largest producer of genetically modified crops, their stance is that it's safe enough to be consumed, according to WebMD.
Genetically modified food, also known as biotech or genetically engineered food, is a suitable and self-explanatory term. It defines the crop plants that have been modified in a laboratory in order to enhance certain desirable traits, such as resistance to herbicides, improved nutritional content, or even non-browning apples. Think of it as a Darwinian farmer, self-imposing on the natural selection process.
Experts say that this science could pose risks such as introducing allergens, accidental contamination between GMOs and non-GMOs, and toxins to food.
The Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Department of Agriculture monitor and regulate all GMO activity within the U.S. The biggest crop scientist is Monsanto Co., who controls 90 percent of the genetically modified crops worldwide and has gotten a lot of attention for testing positive for GMOs in Oregon last month. Genetically modified wheat has not been approved for U.S. farming, which has incited an investigation into whether Monsanto's seeds were accidentally or deliberately mixed.
Kraft has had a crusade of scrutiny for artificial additives recently. In March, two American food bloggers Lisa Leake and Vani Hari shared serious concerns over Mac & Cheese's yellow dye 5 and yellow dye 6. The mothers believe the dyes could be responsible for a myriad of problems in children, including hyperactivity, allergies, migraine, and even cancer due to the dyes' petroleum base. They have since written a petition, asking Kraft to remove the dyes, which has collected over 290,000 signatures.
In the United Kingdom, Kraft provides the same Mac & Cheese product as they do in America, except stricter rules regarding additives have forced Kraft to leave out the dyes and replace them with natural beta carotene and paprika. The pasta's famous color hasn't lost its bright orange glow or cheesy taste and is claimed to be almost identical to the American version. This led Leake and Hari demand all food dyes be removed from macaroni and cheese products because they are "man-made in a lab with chemicals derived from petroleum."
Kraft has not obliged to the request and has defended its decision to keep the artificial dye because the color is part of the, "brand experience," according to Business Insider.
Hari posted Wrightson Cross' photo onto her blog, foodbabe.com, and questioned Kraft's claim to ignorance and then suggested the delicious orange troublemaker be tested for GMOs just to clear the confusion.
"Kraft having no knowledge about the export seems odd to me," she said. "How can we continue to trust a company that continues to not take responsibility for their product containing petroleum based dyes and GMOs?"