Genetically Modified Organisms
This weeks topic is GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) as it relates to soy wax. Similar to fragrance oils this is a very complicated issue that I will attempt to explain in a simple and straightforward way.
When a soybean is genetically modified, the modification affects the protein portion of the bean. The fatty acid has no discernable change. Soy wax is made out of the fatty acid portion of the bean. As such there is no way to test soy wax to determine if it was made from a bean that was or was not genetically modified.
At this time there is not a sufficient supply of non-GMO soybeans available to meet the demand of the soy wax market. Most if not all soy wax manufacturers obtain their soy (or soy oil) from a farm co-op. In other words they are receiving beans from many different farms. Some beans may be non-GMO, while other are not.
While Granville Island Candle Company would like to produce candles from a wax that does not come from or support the practise of genetic modification, there is at this time no available supply of wax that meets this standard.
We also caution you be aware of phrases such as “contains no genetically modified material”. Even if a manufacturer claims that the product has been tested and certified to “contain” no GMO that does NOT mean that the wax came from a non-GMO crop of soy beans. All that this means is that there was no detectable DNA to test since the protein side of the bean was filtered out before wax production, and that is the portion of the bean that needs to be tested.
Simply put this means that the portion of the bean that would indicate the presence of a GMO is not in the wax so the test is positive. This test has effectively no meaning in so far as GMO relates to soy wax.
At this time we would recommend taking any claim that their wax is made with 100% non-GMO soy beans with a grain of salt. The cost of producing such a wax is simply not economical at this time. We have queried every provider of soy wax that we can find. In all cases, including those who claim to produce their wax from non-GMO sources or who claim that their wax does not “contain” GMO, when questioned directly we were told that they actually can not be sure where the crops originated from or what the crops GMO status would be. No one has ever been able to produce a certificate of guarantee that the beans used came from a non-GMO crop.
As such we do not advertise our product as being either produced from non-GMO sources or being GMO free as we feel that both statements could be misleading and result in significant misunderstandings with our clients and their respective clients.
We encourage you to contact your local government representatives and ask them to push for more reform against GMO crops. As more farmers return to natural forms of their produce the cost of these crops will drop. The main reason for their expensive nature is the flood of cheap GMO crops on the market.
Granville Island Candle Company continues to search for a GMO free soy wax and hopes that in the future such a source will be found and that it will be economically viable.