Center for Food Safety email on Wesson Oil

I get emails from the Center for Food Safety and thought I would share this one about Wesson Oil products.


"Natural” Label on Genetically Engineered Products

With consumer interest in how food is produced on the rise, many food companies are now selling new lines of “natural” products—often priced unjustifiably higher than conventionally produced foods and only slightly lower than certified organic products.  These purportedly “natural” products often mislead consumers about healthy food choices.
Market surveys show that health conscious consumers buy and trust products that prominently display the word “natural” on the front of food packages, even though the “natural” claim does not necessarily deliver any added health benefits to consumers above and beyond those of their conventionally manufactured counterparts.

ConAgra is one such company using a “100% Natural” labeling claim to win over consumers.  ConAgra’s Wesson Oils, however, are anything but “100% natural” — because the oils are made from genetically modified (GM) plants. ConAgra sells four types of widely used cooking and food preparation oils under the Wesson brand. All Wesson Oils are sold with a label on the front of the bottle that prominently states they are “100% Natural.”

We are looking for Center for Food Safety members who have purchased any of the following cooking oils in the last few years sold under the Wesson brand name: Canola Oil, Vegetable Oil, Corn Oil, and Best Blend. If you have purchased these products believing them to them to be “100% Natural” and not to contain genetically engineered ingredients, please contact us at adeeringer@icta.org right away. Please include “Wesson” in your subject line and your state of residence in your email.