The Brazilian branch of Cert ID, pioneer and global market leader in specialty certifications like Non-GMO™ and ProTerra® certification for social responsibility and environmental sustainability has just published its tenth annual statistics overview of soy product certification volumes under its Non-GMO Standard. From a combined certification volume of 420,000 metric tons of soybeans in 2000 the annual tonnage has risen to 9.36 (9.0) million tons of soybeans audited and available for certified crushing or shipment to export markets in the 2008-2009 harvest. That amounts to 16.3 (14.9) percent of the total Brazilian soybean crop of 57.3 (60.5) million tons. All of this tonnage is certified against the Cert ID Non-GMO Standard, which stands for less than the detection limit of 0.1 percent GMO content and fully documented traceability (“Hard IP” in trading talk), allowing animal products such as poultry, dairy, pork etc. to carry the new GMO-free claims available now in some EU Member States (“Gentechnik-frei hergestellt” in Austria and “Ohne Gentechnik” in Germany). Additional European countries are currently preparing comparable legislation. Legislators and market forces are thus recognizing the clear rejection of GMOs by European consumers in vegetable and animal food products. For more than ten years now, between 65 and 85 percent of consumers in most EU countries would rather purchase GMO-free food. The availability of Cert ID Certified Non-GMO soy meal in the marketplace makes it possible for poultry, dairy, and meat producers to make GMO-free claims for their products. Commodity importers as well as producers of animal nutrition face no mandatory labeling problems resulting from EU Regulation (EC) No. 1830/2003 and have an additional selling point to animal producers who want to make a “GMO-free” claim. Since 2006, practically all of the soy products certified by Cert ID are also covered by the ProTerra Standard for certification of social responsibility and environmental sustainability. ProTerra fully integrates the Basel Criteria for Responsible Soy Production and carries endorsements from Greenpeace and the WWF. Augusto Freire, CEO of Cert ID do Brasil points out, that “from the 2007 season onwards, practically all of our Brazilian certification clients were able to meet the ProTerra Standard as well and thus could offer both angles to their European clientele: Non-GMO and sustainability.” Richard Werran, Managing Director of Cert ID Europe, adds that this combination “is exactly what European retailers want for their supermarket customers.” A majority of EU consumers continue to prefer not to purchase GM foods. The first poultry fed on Cert ID certified soy meal and subsequently claimed as “Ohne Gentechnik” found its way to consumer dinner tables several months ago. For further information contact: Richard Werran, Managing Director of Cert ID Europe, Tel. +44 1827 874 849, info@cert-id.eu