Can You Trust The ‘Natural’ Label?

[marmar]

from Civil Eats:


Can You Trust The ‘Natural’ Label?
By Brie Mazurek on September 12, 2014


If you think the “natural” label means that a food product contains no artificial ingredients, pesticides, antibiotics, or GMOs, you’re mistaken—but you’re not alone. According to a recent Consumer Reports survey, 59% of consumers seek out the natural label, despite the fact that it has little or no meaning in the marketplace and no federal or third-party standards or verification.

We spoke with Urvashi Rangan, PhD, executive director of the Consumer Reports Food Safety & Sustainability Center, to learn more about sneaky food labels and a campaign to ban the term “natural.” On September 19, San Francisco residents can join Consumer Reports’ “American’s Most Wanted Labels” conference to find out which labels you can or can’t trust, and learn about efforts to bring credibility to food labels for animal welfare, fair trade, and sustainability.

Tell us about your work on food labels at Consumer Reports.

We have been looking at the landscape of eco-labels in food for some time now to see which labels really add value and how much. We have spent a lot of time watchdogging the organic label over the last 15 years and working with the USDA grass-fed claim to make sure those standards are meaningful. We’ve always been supportive of the fact that there’s a continuum of sustainability out there, and credible labeling is a way to move the sustainable marketplace.

What does the word “natural” mean on a food product?

The “natural” label on food doesn’t have a whole lot of meaning. On meat, it means nothing artificial is added to the cut of meat itself, but that’s woefully short of consumer expectations. An overwhelming majority say that they think that “natural” means no artificial ingredients and no pesticides—all things one would think a “natural” product ought to be. Poll after poll shows that people think the natural label means more than it does, and recent polling shows that about one-third of consumers think natural and organic mean the same thing, when they don’t. ..............(more)

- See more at: http://civileats.com/2014/09/12/can-you-trust-the-natural-label/#sthash.y5YxcdO7.dpuf

[DeadLetterOffice]

1. Even if 'natural' meant 'natural' it wouldn't always mean 'good for you'

Arsenic? Natural. Uranium? Natural.
Don't wanna eat those, either.