Avocados see gains with non-GMO label

When Dori Blonder began reading online comments such as, “Don’t buy Florida avocados — they’re so big they must be genetically modified,” she knew it was time to fight back.

Blonder, sales and marketing director of Princeton, Fla.-based New Limeco, said the company’s year-old Powerful Harvest label and Non-GMO Project verification have increased sales and awareness of the health benefits of Florida’s big green fruit.

“We’ve seen a jump in avocado sales of at last 15% since we got Non-GMO verified,” she said.

“Last year we talked about it on our website when consumers scanned the fruit for a recipe,” she said, “and this year we’re adding the Non-GMO mark to the label along with our Powerful Harvest label.”

On New Limeco’s website, consumers learn that Florida’s green-skinned avocados are not only non-GMO but they contain heart-healthy fat, they’re high in fiber and potassium and may boost the immune system.

Becoming non-GMO verified requires a mountain of paperwork repeated every year, Blonder said. Among other things, New Limeco must prove to a third party where its seeds come from and how they’re kept free from cross-contamination.

So far, the company has verified its papayas, avocados, guavas and coconuts.

Mary Ostlund, marketing director at Homestead, Fla.-based Brooks Tropicals, which markets the SlimCado, said she’s been addressing GMO concerns about Florida avocados for years, and feels the message that the fruit grow in a hot, humid environment and are naturally big is finally getting across through Brooks’ website and active presence on social media.

Brooks’ papaya web page even gives consumers an easy way to tell if produce has been genetically modified: the fruit or vegetable’s stock-keeping unit number will have five digits instead of four and start with 8.