The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has launched the SmartLabel™ technology initiative that will enable consumers to have easy and instant access to detailed information about thousands of products, with more than 30 major companies already committed to using it. Consumers will be able to find this detailed product information in several ways: by scanning a QR code on the package, using a search engine, going to a participating company’s web site, or eventually through an app.

“People want more information and are asking more questions about products they buy, use and consume, and SmartLabel™ puts detailed information right at their fingertips,” said Pamela G. Bailey, president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association. “SmartLabel™ is a modern technology that will change how people shop and will help them get answers to questions they have on the products they purchase when they want that information.”

Leading major food companies already committed to using SmartLabel include ConAgra Foods, Hormel Foods, Campbell Soup Company, Land O’Lakes, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Hershey, J.M. Smucker Company, Kellogg Company, General Mills, Ferraro USA, Sunny Delight Beverages Co., and Tyson Foods, Inc. Some companies are beginning to offer products using SmartLabel™ late this year and early in 2016, with projections of nearly 30,000 total products using SmartLabel™ by the end of 2017.

Companies are projecting that, by the end of 2017, they will disclose via SmartLabel™ whether 20,000 food products do, may or do not contain ingredients sourced from genetically engineered (GE) crops, commonly known as GMOs. Current estimates indicate that number could triple once a uniform national standard is set for GMOs.