Cheerios maker General Mills announced on their blog on Wednesday they will no longer be using genetically modified organisms in the production of the cereal.
The changes are being brought forth by consumer demands, Vice President of Global Communications for General Mills Tom Forsythe wrote in the post, adding the only reason they changed the ingredients at all is because they thought consumers might "embrace" it.
Cheerios yellow box will now be labeled with "not made with genetically modified ingredients" as pressure rises from activist on food companies to be more transparent with consumers about what they are eating, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"Biotech seeds, also known as genetically modified seeds, have been approved by global food safety agencies and widely used by farmers in global food crops for almost 20 years," Forsythe said about the safety of GMO ingredients, according to the Times.
No mandatory labeling of foods with GMOs has been asked of food companies, but many are doing so on behalf of the consumer, the Times reported. In Washington state and California, ballot measures for better labeling of food ingredients did not pass.
Still, more organic grocery chains like Whole Foods have announced they will no longer carry products made with GMOs by 2018, the Times reported.
According to Forsythe fear or pressure was not a factor in deciding to remove GMOs from the cereal, which before was made with "a small amount of cornstarch in cooking, and just one gram of sugar per serving for taste," according to the blog post.
"This change is not much of a change at all. The product is essentially the same. The simple and unique nature of Cheerios made it possible - and we think consumers may embrace it," Forsythe said, according to the Times. "The move applies only to original Cheerios, not other varieties of the cereal. The familiar yellow box will now say "not made with genetically modified ingredients."
Forsythe added that the main ingredient, whole grain oats, was never genetically modified.
