By Ken Roseboro

Published: June 1, 2018

Category: The Non-GMO Blog

Kashi’s Cinnamon French Toast is made from Certified Transitional Ingredients

Certified Transitional program helps farmers earn a premium for crops during the three-year transition to organic

A program to help farmers switch to organic production continues to grow as cereal maker Kashi is purchasing more Certified Transitional ingredients and grain processor Bunge North America is now offering transitional corn ingredients.

Since launching the Certified Transitional program in 2016, Kashi has increased the number of Certified Transitional ingredients it purchases from 860 acres to 4272 acres—a 400 percent increase. Participating farmers have received more than $1 million to support their transition from conventional to organic.

Kashi worked with Quality Assurance International to develop the industry’s first Certified Transitional program, which recognizes crops in transition from conventional to organic, making it easier for farmers to switch to organic farming.

Kashi sources Certified Transitional ingredients including wheat, dates, almonds, sorghum, rice, corn milled products, and almond meal and butter. Kashi uses the ingredients in Dark Cocoa Karma Shredded Wheat Biscuits and Cinnamon French Toast cereals and six Chewy Nut Butter Bars. Each product features a Certified Transitional logo.

Bunge is purchasing Certified Transitional corn from Nebraska farmers, and processing it into corn flour, grits and meal at the company’s milling facility in Crete, Nebraska.

The ingredients are being used in cereals, snacks, and baked goods. Kashi is using Bunge’s Certified Transitional corn ingredients.

Mark Stavro, Bunge’s senior director of marketing, sees a lot of interest from farmers in the Certified Transitional program.

“Farmers currently transitioning to organic are very enthusiastic about the Certified Transitional program, and based on conversations with others, we believe the number of participating farmers will increase significantly,” he says.

Tina Owens, Kashi’s director of sustainability & strategic sourcing, encourages other companies to participate in the Certified Transitional program.

“We want to invite other brands and move this forward to help the whole industry.

About the Author

Ken Roseboro

Ken Roseboro has been called “the nation’s reporter on all issues surrounding genetically modified foods” by Acres USA magazine. He has written extensively about GM foods and the non-GMO trend since 1999. Ken’s articles have appeared in leading food and agriculture publications and websites such as Civil Eats, Harvest Public Media, Prepared Foods, Natural Foods Merchandiser, Food Processing, as well as The Huffington Post, Yahoo News, Mother Earth News, and others. He is a contributing editor to EcoWatch. Ken is author of Genetically Altered Foods and Your Health and The Organic Food Handbook both published by Basic Health Publications. He has spoken at many conferences including Natural Products Expo West, Acres USA Conference, The Organic Farming Conference, National Heirloom Seed Expo, and others. Ken is a member of the design team of the Non-GMO Supply Working Group and a founding member of the board of directors of the Iowa Organic Association. Ken also serves on the board of directors of Soil Technologies Corporation. He appears in the award-winning documentary film, GMO OMG. In 2006, Ken received an Award of Merit from Seed Savers Exchange for his efforts to preserve genetic diversity through his publications.