Responding to industry and consumer demand for non-GMO certification options, NSF International, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based not-for-profit public health and standard development organization, launched NSF Non-GMO True North, a suite of GMO transparency services for retailers, manufacturers, suppliers and producers.

Available through NSF International’s Consumer Values Verified program, NSF Non-GMO True North certification utilizes elements of global and domestic GMO labeling regulations, including EU and Vermont GMO labeling requirements, and gives credit for food safety quality system best practices such as segregation, traceability and supplier approval and monitoring programs. To ensure consumer confidence and transparency, NSF Non-GMO True North also requires risk assessment-based unannounced audits, unannounced chain of custody sampling and independent testing and requires manufacturers to perform routine testing.

NSF Non-GMO True North provides manufacturers an additional certification for sourcing and production claims on packaging and in marketing materials at a time when non-verified and never inspected claims for “non-GMO” or “GMO-free” are increasingly commonplace in the absence of federal oversight.

“NSF Non-GMO True North is an expansion in non-GMO certification services that will help consumers make an informed decision about the food they eat, as more products in the marketplace are able to be independently certified by a trusted third-party certifier,” says Jaclyn Bowen, director of NSF International’s Consumer Values Verified program. “As consumer demands for non-GMO products grow, NSF Non-GMO True North offers producers, including ranchers and farmers, processors and manufacturers a solution that utilizes fundamentals of other current and emerging regulatory and food safety requirements.”