More and more of us are interested in eating healthier foods and “natural” food is especially popular. Food companies have eagerly embraced this concept in their labeling. All sorts of food products are labeled “natural” or even “all-natural.”
But what does “natural” actually mean? It turns out that it is unclear. The FDA has refused to weigh in on the subject saying that “from a food science perspective, it is difficult to define a food product that is ‘natural’ because the food has probably been processed and is no longer the product of the earth.”
Over the years, there have been many lawsuits directed at food companies improperly extolling how natural their products are. Natural food has become a thorny issue for the courts. Recently proposed federal legislation “The Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2013” seeks to address this issue.
The law would forbid the use of the term “natural” in foods that contain artificial ingredients, coloring or flavoring. Natural could not be used for synthesized versions of natural ingredients, chemical additives like high fructose syrup, or foods like cocoa processed with alkali. The same legislation would restrict the use of the term “healthy” in food labeling.
If the new law passes, the revised guidelines would not necessarily make our food any healthier. But it would prevent us from making unfounded assumptions about what we are eating.
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Web Links
Misleading “Natural” Food Labels May Soon Be History
http://www.triplepundit.com/2013/09/misleading-natural-food-labels-be-history/
Photo, taken on May 1, 2009, courtesy of Sean via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.