When is the last time you looked closely at the list of strange, unidentifiable ingredients on your package of food? Unless the package is labeled with a USDA Organic or a Non-GMO Project certified insignia, processed foods typically contain a plethora of GMOs—typically in some form of processed corn (have you watched the movie King Corn yet?).
There are even three “whole” foods that have been genetically engineered to date, including a non-browning apple, 3 types of potatoes (although these potatoes were engineered only with other potato genes, rather than foreign genes), and genetically engineered salmon.
Below is a list of “invisible” GMO ingredients typically found in packaged and processed foods (Source: the Non-GMO Shopping Guide):
Aspartame (also called AminoSweet®, NutraSweet®, Equal Spoonful®, Canderel®, BeneVia®, E951)
Baking powder
Canola oil (rapeseed oil)
Caramel color
Cellulose
Citric acid
Cobalamin (Vitamin B12)
Colorose
Condensed milk
Confectioners sugar
Corn flour
Corn masa
Corn meal
Corn oil
Corn sugar
Corn syrup
Cornstarch
Cottonseed oil
Cyclodextrin
Cystein
Dextrin
Dextrose
Diacetyl
Diglyceride
Erythritol
Equal
Food starch
Fructose (any form)
Glucose
Glutamate
Glutamic acid
Glycerides
Glycerin
Glycerol
Glycerol monooleate
Glycine
Hemicellulose
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
Hydrogenated starch
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
Inositol
Inverse syrup
Inversol
Invert sugar
Isoflavones
Lactic acid
Lecithin
Leucinelysine
Malitol
Malt
Malt syrup
Malt extract
Maltodextrin
Maltose
Mannitol
Methylcellulose
Milk powder
Milo starch
Modified food starch
Modified starch
Mono- and diglycerides
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
Nutrasweet
Oleic acid
Phenylalanine
Phytic acid
Protein isolate
Shoyu
Sorbitol
Soy flour
Soy isolates
Soy lecithin
Soy milk
Soy oil
Soy protein
Soy protein isolate
Soy sauce
Starch
Stearic acid
Sugar (unless specified as cane sugar)
Tamari
Tempeh
Teriyaki marinades
Textured vegetable protein
Threonine
Tocopherols (vitamin E)
Tofu
Trehalose
Triglyceride
Vegetable fat
Vegetable oil
Vitamin B12
Vitamin C (see note*)
Vitamin E
Whey
Whey powder
Xanthan gum
*According to the Non-GMO Shopping Guide, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), although usually derived from corn, is “probably not” GM because it is not likely made in North America. However other sources like GMO Compass and Organic Consumers Association believe that Vitamin C is almost always GM, because of the newer GM-based production technology which is widely used in China, considering that China is the primary source of Vitamin C.
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GMO Awareness 
What are we to eat this really sucks I have kidney dysfunction and they make it impossible to do the right thing …….I would like to list many swear words ..you know the root of all evil is the ugly dollar
Julie, if you haven’t already, feel free to explore the rest of our website, particularly under the “Shopping List” section. We’ve got all sorts of pages and resources to help you identify what you can eat. Very best of luck to you!
It is frustrating to find food to eat that is nutrient rich from sustainable farming methods that may appear as over priced and hard to get. GMO crops are cheaper, larger, shiny and have less nutrients due to using the same earth over again, no tilling etc. The large produce appears great to people needing food, but in reality, you pay for what you get. I chose to go GMO free, process my own food from real food at farmers markets sourced from small farms, EU, Japan, New Zealand and any other countries banning GMO’s. It is a struggle as I pay more, but I win with feeling good and being free from drugs. If you live in Canada, CBAN.CA has all the info on what is grown and imported. If you live in USA, find coop groups for local food or grow your own outside and in…. Personally, I believe chemical companies are slowly killing all life forms…
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I just want to you sent you Kudos for doing what your doing…. Keep up the good fight! I salute and applaud your work The Herbal Alchemyst
Thanks kindly! And the same to you!
Please keep up with what you’re doing. I love my life and I want to keep it. Please help stop the use of gmo’s so we can get it banned in the U.S.
Thank you so very much for such informative info. Verna
Very welcome, Verna! Please feel free to share and help spread the awareness.
This is a great site, I am a student attending a brand new high school in California. I would love to have a GMO free school. Make an instagram. I am doing a report on GMOs and this is the perfect site. Reach out to the younger generation, we can still be swayed. The FDA hasn’t blinded us yet.
I’m very disheartened, I purchased Nature’s Bakery fig bars, they are stamped with the non-gmo project certification. But one of the ingredients is modified food starch. How is that possible?
Sadly, there are a couple loopholes in the USDA’s organic certification process, one of which is non-organic cornstarch (which in our opinion is long overdue for removal from the “acceptable” list, considering how many sources of organic cornstarch are now readily available to commercial food manufacturers); the other is soy lecithin (though only one form of soy lecithin is allowed, and only when an organic option is not available). 😦
I try to use sweet potato starch or rice flour instead of corn starch or flour. Are those acceptable as non-gmo ingredients?
Even easier: buy baking ingredients that have USDA Organic on the label. That way you get less pesticides too! 🙂
Whole Foods sells organic corn starch & it’s labelled Verified Non-GMO. I use it when I make egg drop soup.
I’m confused, I thought China had banned GMO’s or was that only for their military or was that story a hoax to begin with? I forget where I had read that over the past 6 months or so.
Thank you for the information you provide us. I’ll explore the site more…
Is Wild Harvest Brand non GMO?
Some of their products are, some aren’t. Look for the USDA Organic label.
I really like your site and what you are doing!!! Of all the horrible things we could do to our bodies GMO foods is one that should be left out! Thanks for taking time out of your life to inform us beings that know nothing about what is safe for us to eat and drink! I am sure I am not the only out here that appreciates it!
You are so welcome. Thanks for your kind comment.
I raised three children, had I been aware of GMO use in the 90s I would have changed the way I fed my children. So many pros and cons with GMOs use. Never would I have chanced my children’s health. Many people are yet unaware of GMO use to this day. If it’s so safe and honorable what’s the big secret? My heart goes out to the children!
MY FRIEND TOLD ME 20 YEARS AGO THAT THE MASSES OF PEOPLE. WOULD BE FED ARTIFICIAL FOODS. THAT WE WOULD STAVE WITH FULL BELLIES BECAUSE OUR BODIES
CANNOT PROCESS THESE FOODS. BOTTOM LINE –THE MASSES OF PEOPLE ARE FINISHED ON PLANET EARTH.
I have been researching organic baby foods to give my daughter. Earth’s Best seems good, having the USDA Organic and Non-GMO certifications. However, some of their products contain ascorbic acid and citric acid. Is there a chance these could be GMO even if the products are labeled “non-GMO”? Thanks!
Visit our “Is Organic Always GMO Free” page… not sure you’ll feel reassured, but you’ll at least be aware. 🙂
Where can I find a list of beers that are not GMO?
Searching google should help? I’d recommend typing “USDA organic beer” and see what you can find. (Sorry we don’t maintain a list of everything… yet!) 🙂
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Thank you so much for the useful list! How about GMO potatoes, apples, or tomatoes?
Added apples, potatoes, and salmon (GE tomatoes were never released to market).
Raise your own food is the only thing I can see as an alternative. Non GMO seeds and meat raised on grass from your yard and not GMO sown seeds. It’s amazing what is possible to grow in a small area. Chickens take some room as do cows or goats. If you have land now days, use it I say. Cook real food and stay clear of store bought stuff. Make your own breads from non GMO flour. It’s possible, it’s not easy but possible.
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Thanks for all the info. Very to the point and helpful
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