Non-GMO Project's Non-UPF Verified Label Now Includes Over 300 Products

Products with this verification cover 15 food and beverage categories from brands including Simple Mills, Chomps, and Blue Diamond almonds. An additional 41 brands are in the process of obtaining verification.

To facilitate brand awareness, the initiative plans to launch a mobile app that allows consumers to scan barcodes on packaged foods to check for Non-UPF Verified status. If a product is not verified, shoppers can request certification, effectively indicating to food manufacturers the demand for such verification.

Research from Cornell University indicates that over 60% of surveyed consumers view ultraprocessed foods as addictive and linked to chronic health issues like obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. While 58% of Americans have encountered the term ultraprocessed foods, only about one-third feel confident in defining it.

The Non-UPF Verified label aims to bridge this information gap, offering a straightforward method for consumers to differentiate products. Other verification systems are emerging, and California is set to introduce the first statewide non-ultraprocessed label.

The Non-UPF Verified label assesses products based on their processing levels and criteria for additives and added sugars, claiming to focus more on processing levels than California's proposed program, which emphasizes ingredients and nutrition.

Westgate expressed a commitment to enhancing transparency in food processing, emphasizing the importance of collaboration among policymakers, researchers, food makers, and certifiers. Notable brands holding the Non-UPF Verified certification include Amy’s Kitchen, Big Tree Farms, BjornQorn, and Spindrift, among others. One additional brand participating in the program has chosen to remain anonymous.