BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – Just in time for the Fourth of July holiday, Applegate’s natural and organic beef hot dogs will now feature verification from Non-GMO Project.

The Non-GMO Project offers North America's independent verification for products made according to best practices for GMO avoidance. Applegate's verified products are produced in compliance with the Non-GMO Project Standard – that means ongoing testing of all major GMO risk ingredients, facility inspections and an annual audit to ensure products meet the highest possible standards for GMO avoidance.

"Last July, we launched our first two Non-GMO Project Verified products, Applegate Organics Chicken Nuggets and Applegate Organics Gluten-free Chicken Nuggets, and made a commitment to third-party verify all our products are made without GMOs throughout the entire supply chain," said Steve Lykken, Applegate president. "We're happy to announce that our list of Non-GMO Project Verified products is growing, with 10 added this summer, including both our natural and organic beef hot dogs."

"Americans traditionally consume the most hot dogs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and with that, we want to provide consumers nationwide with a worry-free hot dog option that is made with 100 percent grass-fed beef that's humanely raised without antibiotics, and now with no GMOs from animal feed to final ingredients," Lykken added.  

In addition to having its natural and organic beef hot dogs verified, Applegate Organics Turkey Burgers have also been verified by Non-GMO. For a full list of Applegate products verified by Non-GMO Project visit www.nongmoproject.org.

Applegate is a subsidiary of Hormel Foods.