Whole Foods Rejects Popular Brand because of GMO

Whole Foods Market WFM will stop selling America's most popular brand of Greek Yogurt Chobani because it contains genetically modified ingredients next year, The Wall Street Journal reported. Whole Foods is removing Chobani to make room for other brands of yogurt that don't contain genetically modified organisms or GMO, unnamed sources told The Journal. The Journal hasn't been able to confirm the story but Whole Foods does have a corporate policy of eliminating all GMO products from its shelves by 2018. The organic grocer will continue to stock Fage, Chobani's main rival which also contains GMO ingredients for the foreseeable future. The Journal didn't say what products will replace Chobani on Whole Foods' shelves. Privately held Chobani now sales around $1 billion worth of Greek yogurt a year, the Journal reported. Chobani is currently facing intense competition from Groupe Danone SA (maker of Dannon) and General Mills Inc.'s GIS Yoplait in the yogurt business. Whole Foods is engaged in a plan to expand its operations to include 1,000 stores in the near future. The chain is making a strong effort to distinguish itself from traditional grocers such as Safeway Stores Inc. SWY and Kroger )NYSE: KR) which stock many of the same products. Whole Foods shares were down slightly by 42¢ or .73% in midday trading on Dec. 18, 2013. The grocer's share price has been struggling to regain the all time high price it reached in October in recent months.