No GMOs in my Pepsi or Fritos Corn Chips!

Posted by
Sally Odum
Jul 15, 2006

I went to the store the other day, and after making a few purchases, I walked outside. Passing a soda machine, I could not resist a cold Pepsi(r). In one of those "meant to be" moments, I took my purchases and my soda back into the store because I suddenly "had to have" a bag of Frito Lay(r) corn chips.

Back at home, comfortably seated in front of my computer, I put a handful of the delicious chips in my mouth and started munching. "Mmmm, Fritos(r) brand corn chips are the best," I thought to myself contentedly. Immediately, I thought: CORN chips. And my cola contained CORN syrup. Since I've been researching and writing about genetically modified foods and genetic engineering, I just "had to know" where Frito Lay gets their corn and more to the point: Is it possible to know if it is genetically modified corn that they use in their products?

So with the kind of curiosity that reportedly sometimes kills cats, I started researching.

To my surprise and delight, I immediately found several articles about how Frito Lay (and thus PepsiCo Inc.) several years ago decided it would be a GMO-free company. The company employs its own growers and they do not grow GE crops. I found out a lot of very interesting facts about Frito Lay and other companies, which I will share with you in an upcoming article on GMOs in CONSUMER FOOD PRODUCTS. This is from the PepsiCo Inc. website,

"PepsiCo, Inc. was founded in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay. Tropicana was acquired in 1998. In 2001, PepsiCo merged with the Quaker Oats Company, creating the world's fifth-largest food and beverage company, with 15 brands - each generating more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. "

As you know if you have read the series on genetic engineering, the United States and Canada do not label foods that contain genetically modified organisms. So if you are considering (like I was) cutting out all GM corn or GMOs, for example, you will have to think VERY BIG AND WIDE. For now, I will just tell you that everything from canned spaghetti and meatballs, soda pop, fast foods, candies, baked goods, canned soups, and so much more... all contain some form of GMOs from some source.

Dec 23, 2008 9:46 PM

Guest :

Hey, I like Fritos too, BUT...until/unless we have legally enforceable standards that require the labeling of GMO derived products, then there's no guarantee--and no way of reasonably knowing for certain--if the foods we consume are GMO-free. If Frito-Lay thinks that this an important issue for consumers, and if their products are truly GMO-free, then why don't they voluntarily label their products as such? Unless you're naive enough to believe that corporations never lie, it would be foolish to trust a web site statement made by a multi-national corporate conglomerate like Frito-Lay. Besides, GMO crops can cross pollinate (i.e., cross-contaminate) non-GMO crops over distances of miles. For more in-depth information, read the book titled "Seeds of Deception" by Jeffrey M. Smith. Safe eating!

Jul 23, 2009 12:13 PM

Guest :

All of the articles stating that Frito-Lay products are non-GMO are from the year 2000, almost a decade ago. Since then, they could have changed their policies and the articles that I have read have implied that Frito-Lay was having trouble finding suppliers of non-GMO canola oil. I can't find anything recent on this, so I think the best bet would be to call the company directly 1-800-352-4477, though they might just lie to you anyway. The only way you can be completely sure is to cut out non-organic food and drink water. It's what God (whatever that means to you) intended anyways.