WASHINGTONPost Foods is rolling out Non-GMO Project Verified Grape-Nuts cereal. The furor about GMO labeling has lead to increased consumer concerns about GMOs, and therefore increased demand for non-GMO food and beverage products.

In a response to a request from GMO Inside, Post said, "Post has released a non-GMO verified Grape-Nuts that is on the store shelves as of January 2014. Also, we are exploring some of our other cereals to see if there is potential going forward to add more non-GMO verified products to the Post Foods product line. We are always listening to our consumers and looking for ways to provide a good variety of products." 

Post's move closely follows that of General Mills, which released non-GMO original Cheerios earlier this month, though Cheerios is not third-party verified.

"GMO Inside thanks Post for removing GMOs from Grape-Nuts Original and congratulates them for doing it right with third-party verification," said Nicole McCann, Green America GMO Inside campaign director. "We're glad Post is also considering removing GMOs from other cereals and look forward to seeing them on the shelves. We would also love to see Post supporting mandatory GMO labeling."

Growing consumer awareness about GMOs is fueling the growth of products marked with eco-labels, such as "organic." In fact, increased consumer interest in food origins will push organic food sales to reach $50 billion by 2018.

In addition, retailers are responding by providing greater transparency to consumers. Whole Foods Market is increasing its range of GMO-free products; it currently has more than 3,300 Non-GMO Project Verified products from more than 250 brands. The company has made a commitment that all food products with GMO ingredients will be labeled as such by 2018. Trader Joes states 80% of its products are GMO-free, while all its private label products are free from GMO ingredients.