Product review (3 stars): GE Branded Filter Has Certification and Impressive Water Filter Claims
Why buy a GE branded filter when there are many 3rd party ones selling for 1/3 to 1/2 the price ?
But do the 3rd party filters perform the same as the GE ?

You decide, but here are my thoughts:

Previous GE MWF filters came with a California registration/certification; Calif has stringent standards.  Interestingly, this version (2016) doesn't have the Calif document anymore.
-The GE branded filter is "Made in the US with globally sourced components."  (Others are made in China.)  It's clear GE is distributor but not manufacturer of the filter.
- It claims to  filter out chlorine taste, odor, cysts, lead, mercury, asbestos, atrazine, benzene and lindane plus 5 pharmaceuticals (pharma end up in water when people flush expired or unused medicine).
- Box states filter is tested and certified by NSF International against NSF/ANSI Standard 42 and Standard 53 for the claims specified.  Some posters have written about these standards.  I would suggest buyers compare these certified claims with those of 3rd party brands.
- Box says to change after 300 gallon or 6 months.  Well, a gallon per day suggests once per year.  Twice per year will break the bank.
- With reviews over 10 years and several design changes during the time, I would only read informed reviews from after 2015 or so; reviews from several years may be obsolete.