Move comes after pressure from anti-GMO activists, who say the technology is environmentally suspect and a health threat

Here’s further coverage of a story we first reported on 23 February.

EXCERPT: In a statement, John Roulac, co-chair of GMO Inside, said that Hershey's has further to go. 'Hershey's needs to take the next step and go non-GMO with all of its chocolates, and get third-party verification for non-GMO ingredients. This includes sourcing milk from cows not fed GMOs and agreeing to prohibit any synthetic biology ingredients, starting with vanilla,' he said.
—

Hershey's pulls GMO ingredients from best-selling chocolate bars amid backlash against 'Frankenfoods'

Lydia Warren
Daily Mail, 24 Feb 2015
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2966935/Hershey-s-pulls-GMO-ingredients-best-selling-chocolate-bars-amid-backlash-against-Frankenfoods.html

* Hershey's Kisses Milk Chocolates and Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars will start featuring 'simpler ingredients' this year, the company announced
* It comes after pressure from anti-GMO activists, who claim the technology is environmentally suspect and a possible health threat
* Others in the food industry insist the foods are safe and less harmful to the environment, and that the technology boosts food production
* Hershey's says the new ingredients will be more expensive but it is committed to keeping prices the same for consumers

Hershey's has announced it is pulling GMO ingredients from its most popular chocolate snacks after complaints from thousands of consumers.

Its biggest sellers, including Hershey's Kisses Milk Chocolates and Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars, will start featuring 'simpler ingredients' this year, the U.S. confectionery giant announced last week.

The company is also dropping emulsifier polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) and artificial vanillin, the Confectionery News reported. PGPR reduces the viscosity of chocolate and is used by companies as a replacement for expensive raw ingredient cocoa butter.

The decision comes amid a growing backlash against 'Frankenfoods'. Critics of GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) foods consider them environmentally suspect and a possible health threat.

But many in the food industry insist the foods are safe, the technology boosts food production, and its use is less environmentally harmful than traditional farming methods.

Hershey's joins other companies including General Mills, Unilever and Post Foods in responding to consumers' demand to remove GMO ingredients from products.

And just last week, Nestle announced that it will cut artificial colors and flavors from its U.S. confectionery by the end of 2015.

Hershey's acted after tens of thousands of people urged the company to drop GMO ingredients on their Facebook page and through emails in a relentless campaign led by GMO Inside.

But in a statement, John Roulac, co-chair of GMO Inside, said that Hershey's has further to go.

'Hershey's needs to take the next step and go non-GMO with all of its chocolates, and get third-party verification for non-GMO ingredients. This includes sourcing milk from cows not fed GMOs and agreeing to prohibit any synthetic biology ingredients, starting with vanilla,' he said.

'Consumers are increasingly looking for non-GMO products and verification, and Hershey's and its competitors would be wise to offer third-party verified non-GMO products to consumers.'

The move comes after Hershey's said last December that it was exploring transitioning away from high fructose corn syrup.

It announced its decision last week.

'We all want and deserve to know what's in our food,' said the company's president and CEO John P. Bilbrey in a statement.

'We will strive for simplicity with all of our ingredients, but we may not achieve it with every product. This is a journey and it will take time.

'We are equally committed to sharing what we achieve and what we don't. For ingredients that may not be as simple, we will explain what they are and why we need them to provide the great flavors, aromas, textures and appearances that our consumers know and love.'

The company said the new ingredients would be more expensive but promised to maintain consumer prices, the Confectionery News reported.

GMOs are plants and animals that have had been created by mixing DNA from different species to make a new one. They are found in many strains of corn, sugar beets and soy, among other foods.

There has been debate over the health impacts of the technology, and there has been a push throughout Europe to drop what critics have dubbed 'Frankenfoods'.

Last May, Vermont ruled that GM food must carry a label - the first state to make labeling a legal requirement. The legislation will come into force in 2016.

Maine and Connecticut have previously passed laws requiring labels on GMO foods, but their laws don't take effect unless neighboring states follow suit.

Last year, the Biotechnology Industry Organization said in a statement that scientists and regulators worldwide recognize that foods made from genetically modified crops are safe.

'And these same GM crops have enabled farmers to produce more on less land with fewer pesticide applications, less water and reduced on-farm fuel use,' BIO Vice President Cathleen Enright said.   

FIGHTING FRANKENFOODS: EUROPE'S BATTLE AGAINST GMOs

Much of Europe, including Germany and France, wants to ban GMO crops amid concerns over their impact on the environment, food and human health.

The administrations in Scotland and Wales also oppose the technology having seen the problems that have emerged in the U.S., such as superweeds, which have proven difficult to control.

But Britain and Spain support the technology and are keen to see the crops in the fields and on dinner plates as soon as possible.

Last month, the European Parliament voted for a new approvals process in growing GMO crops - meaning that they could appear in UK fields from next year.

The system will allow each country to decide for itself whether or not to grow a GM crop – once it has been ruled safe by EFSA, which is the EU's food safety body.

Critics of GMO foods consider them environmentally suspect and a possible health threat. They fear that pollen from GM plants will spread to other conventional and organic crops, so polluting the entire food chain.

But many in the food industry insist the foods are safe, the technology boosts food production, and its use is less environmentally harmful than traditional farming methods.