TOPIC (Testing of Products Initiated by Consumers) is a consumer-led organisation funded by consumers and retailers that are committed to transparency. TOPIC uses laboratory testing, farm and factory visits and any other means necessary to verify that ingredients and label claims are accurate.
The most nominated product at the end of April was Futurelife Crunch Smart Food cereal and its ‘non-GMO’ label claim. In response, TOPIC launched into its fifth investigation to verify if the claim was true.
On the 29th of April 2016, we announced that Futurelife was our next investigation on social media and the same day we were contacted by Futurelife’s GM of Business and Marketing, David Sweidan, who was keen to “proactively engage regarding our non-GMO status.”
During the next month, we were informed of the company’s GMO declaration and extensive non-GMO systems and procedures. TOPIC requested to see previous laboratory results verifying the non-GMO status and in June, we received a copy of Futurelife’s Smart Food University of the Free State (UFS) laboratory test from March 2016, showing 0.32% transgenic promoter DNA in the maize and 0.04% transgenic CP4 EPSPS DNA in the soya.
Futurelife upholds the standard as specified in the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 of less than 1% in order to label their product ‘non-GMO’. The company then promised to share with us the latest test results as they became available.
In July, Futurelife sent us their latest Crunch Smart Food cereal UFS laboratory test showing that 35S and NOS transgenic DNA were not detected. It was now time for some independent testing!
TOPIC randomly selected a Futurelife Crunch Smart Food cereal product from a shop shelf and couriered the product to UFS’s GMO testing lab. Results came back showing that 35S and NOS transgenic DNA were detected and needed to be quantified .
Due to limited funds, we asked Futurelife if they would be willing to cover the cost of the quantification tests and they agreed. On the 29th of August, we received the final results from UFS showing that the 35S maize and GTS40-3-2 soybean transgenic DNA that were detected were too small to quantify. This means that the GMO amount found was between 0.01%, the limit of detection, and 0.05%, the limit of quantification.
South African law states that for a product to be labelled non-GMO, it must contain less than 1% GMOs, and if a food item/ product has 5% or more GMO, it must appear on the label. Within these parameters, Futurelife Crunch cereal is accurately labelled as non-GMO.
These thresholds are set due to the sometimes unavoidable small amount of mixing that can occur during the production, transportation, and processing of agricultural products.
TOPIC spokesperson, Peter Becker, said “Futurelife has been proactive in engaging with us, sharing information and striving to be transparent in their operations. Their detailed GMO policies are admirable and their claims have been backed up via independent laboratory tests. The company is to be applauded for the lengths they have gone to to ensure their non-GMO label claim is accurate and trustworthy.”
Futurelife’s Sweidan added: “It gives us great pleasure to know there are still some credible bodies such as TOPIC SA looking after the consumers. We give our full support towards this initiative!
“The debate regarding the merits of GM versus non-GM is a complex one and we do not profess to be experts in this area. However, we do stand by our consumers and what they want from us and since the 1st of July 2013, Futurelife products have been made from non-GMO raw materials and carry the non-GMO logo.
“We endeavour to ensure that our consumers are fully aware and informed of what ingredients are used to make our products and we maintain the non-GMO benchmark through various check-points, systems and procedures.
“For monitoring, we use supplier quality assurance measures as well as Certificate of Acceptability to ensure that on receipt, all raw materials meet with the non-GMO requirements. To verify, composite samples of every product manufactured are sent monthly for testing by an accredited and approved GMO laboratory by the National Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries,” concluded Sweidan.
The company has come a long way since 2012 when the report released by the African Center for Biosafety specified that Futurelife had failed to adhere to the mandatory genetically modified labelling requirement.
Working with retailers who have committed to transparency, TOPIC is supported by online organic shop Faithful to Nature, health and wellness retailer Wellness Warehouse, Cape Town fresh produce retailers Organic Zone and Garden Route Goodies, Johannesburg-based retailers, Bryanston Organic & Natural Market and Jackson’s Real Food Market, as well as urban agriculture voluntary association Abalimi-Harvest of Hope and The Farm and Garden National Trust.
Glenda Moore from the Bryanston Organic & Natural Market commented: “We support the precautionary principle in relation to GMO’s (the process of forcing genes from one species into another entirely unrelated species where it does not occur in nature), which states that until comprehensive tests are done on the effects of GMO’s on not only human and animal health but also on the effect of the environment, they should not be permitted.
“As a small business with limited resources, Bryanston Organic & Natural Market welcomes the work done by TOPIC on behalf of the organic sector in South Africa in ensuring that the products offered by the sector to consumers are honest and carry integrity and transparency,” she said.
“South Africa is better off than some other countries like the United States where GMOs in products are quite prolific but soya and our staple crop, maize, are seriously tainted,” says Jackson’s Real Food Market owner, Gary Jackson. “Customers are asking for non-GMO products and at Jackson’s, we try to provide the purest products we can in alignment with our motto #RealHonestFood.”
TOPIC is committed to working with consumers, producers and retailers towards accurate labelling and ensuring that consumers can trust what they read on a label. With several successful investigations conducted so far, including Wakaberry, Le Chocolatier and Freedom Bakery, TOPIC is still currently investigating Woolworth’s organic milk claims.
Consumers are encouraged to nominate products for testing via Facebook, Twitter or anonymously via our website.
Update on 18 April 2023
In 2023, the TOPIC SA was informed that FUTURELIFE is no longer labelled as GMO-free. A company statement on FUTURELIFE’s website says: The global COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on our supply chain. As a result, we are no longer able to guarantee that all the raw materials in our products are NON-GMO.
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