If the food is touted as "natural," you'd better check the label carefully - Health and Fitnes... Page 1 of 2
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If the food is touted as "natural," you'd better check the
label carefully
Posted by Julie Kennel Shertzer/The Ohio State University March 11, 2009
00:00AM
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Categories: Dieting and nutrition, Impact, Netwellness
If you think there are more "natural"
products on grocery store shelves
these days, you're right.
And even more than other claims on
food labels, "natural" should give you
pause. In most cases, it has little
meaning.
According to the Mintel Global New
Products database, which monitors the
appearance of new household
products, a whopping one-third of all
new U.S. food and beverage products
in 2008 highlighted claims of being
"natural" or "all natural," or something
similar, including "organic," "no
additives or preservatives" and "whole
grain."
Know what the label terms mean
• Whole Grain — Although dietitians
encourage consumers to look for
"whole grain" on labels to boost
nutrition (according to national
recommendations, half the grains we
eat should be whole), the other terms
have little to do with nutrition.
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This week's NetWellness column is
authored by Julie Kennel Shertzer, a
licensed/registered dietician and
program specialist for The Ohio State
University's Department of Human
Nutrition,
For more information, visit the Diet
and Nutrition health topic.
Sign up for the NetWellness Monthly
Newsletter.
• Organic — Foods labeled "organic" must follow guidelines of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture's National Organic Program, but that has everything to do with how
plants are grown and how animals are raised, and nothing to do with the nutritive
value of the final product.
• No Additives or Preservatives — The term "no additives or preservatives"
doesn't affect the nutrition of the product -- it just means there are no synthetic
additives or preservatives. Those foods can still be loaded with saturated fat, trans
fat, sodium, sugar, or other ingredients you want to limit in your diet.
The same can be said for the term "natural."
Definition of "natural" may vary by regulating agency
• USDA — The USDA, which regulates meat and poultry, says those products can
be labeled "natural" if they don't contain any artificial ingredients or added color,
and are only minimally processed. But if "natural" is used on the label, it must also
give an additional explanation, such as "no added colorings or artificial ingredients."
• FDA — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows the term "natural" to be
used on a food label if it is "truthful," "not misleading," and when the food contains
no added colors, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances. Still, there's a lot of gray
area.
Legal action and food label claims
----In 2005, the FDA declined a request to more specifically define what is meant by
"natural" when it comes to foods. Soon after, the Center for Science in the Public
Interest sued Kraft Foods because of an "all natural" claim on Capri Sun drinks (the
lawsuit was dropped when Kraft agreed to take the claim off the label).
http://blog.cleveland.com/health/2009/03/if_the_food_is_touted_as_natur.html
3/20/2009
If the food is touted as "natural," you'd better check the label carefully - Health and Fitnes... Page 2 of 2
The group also threatened to sue the makers of 7up for making the same claim, but
the makers removed the term from the label rather than going to court over it.
What's a consumer to do?
Experts recommend to always look beyond what's on the front label, and check the
ingredients list. Decide for yourself if the items listed there seem "natural" to you.
But don't be lured by the pleasant sounding word "natural" alone. After all, arsenic
is natural, but you sure wouldn't want to eat it!
This article originally appeared Feb. 1 in Chowline, a service of Ohio State
University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center,
and was adapted for use online by NetWellness and The Plain Dealer with
permission, 2009.
Tags: Julie Kennel Shertzer, NetWellness, nutrition, organic food
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http://blog.cleveland.com/health/2009/03/if_the_food_is_touted_as_natur.html
3/20/2009