Welcome to my blog dedicated to the topic of non-GMO certifications! I spent three years and eleven months as a Technical Evaluator for FoodChain ID, the first and biggest Technical Administrator for the Non-GMO Project’s Product Verification Program. As a Technical Evaluator it was my job to review product, ingredient and production facility information to make sure all was compliant to the Non-GMO Project’s Standard and, once that holy trinity of compliance was met, that product was ‘verified’ and eligible to display the NGP’s butterfly logo on it’s retail packaging and/or be listed publicly on the NGP’s list of verified products. Yay! Sounds easy, right? Mm, not so much, depending on the kind of product that was under the microscope.
For the unknowing and uninitiated, there’s a whole heck of a lot under the NGP’s standard that requires extensive scrutiny and documentation, to the frustration of participants, their ingredient suppliers and co-manufacturers. One of my favorite tasks as a Technical Evaluator with FoodChain ID was to guide participants through the certification process and help them with their particular obstacles, so after deciding this late winter to leave FoodChain ID, it seemed like a natural choice to become a non-gmo certification consultant. My hope is that my blog will be a resource for those intrepid sailors who are traveling the sometimes treacherous sea of non-GMO certification (or for those who get stuck in the doldrums!).
Future posts will cover reviews of alternate Non-GMO certification standards (NSF’s True North), Vermont’s GMO labeling bill and its impacts, and other related topics, so stay tuned!
– Karin Tobin, Non-GMO Certification Consultant
KnowGMOs.com 