The Myth of Natural
Why 'Natural' is a Fraud
With the exception of the “natural” meat sector, where there are limited, voluntary guidelines, there is no definition of “natural”. Many consumers are confused about the difference between so-called “natural” products and nutritionally and environmentally superior “certified organic” products. Whole Foods and UNFI are maximizing their profits by selling quasi-natural products at premium organic prices.
If your product contains even trace levels of pesticide residue, and you are calling it '100% natural', are you at risk of a false advertising lawsuit? New complaints filed against Post Foods – mirroring lawsuits filed in March vs Quaker Oats - suggest the answer is yes.
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For consumers who want to avoid bisphenol A, Environmental Working Group (EWG) has created the first easily, searchable database of nearly 16,000 processed food and drinks packaged in materials that may contain this hormone-disrupting chemical, better known as BPA. The list was compiled from a little-known food industry inventory and is now available at EWG’s Food Scores database.
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Justin's LLC, a nut butter company with humble beginnings in Boulder's farmers market, has landed in the hands of consumer goods giant Hormel Foods at the price of $286 million.
The fast-growing spread and snack company will remain in Boulder and Hormel says it will keep the existing leadership team in place, including founder Justin Gold.
Justin's joins a line up of successful natural and organic companies that have been snapped up by large, conventional operations.
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Let me guess: You don't cook as much as you wish you did. The whole rigmarole, from menu planning to navigating the store to chopping and cleaning everything up, seems like a time-sucking ordeal. Yet you've heard the messages: Home-cooked meals engender a healthier relationship with food and a richer family life.
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If you dine out regularly, chances are you’ve seen “farm-to-table,” “locally sourced,” and “sustainable” options on the menu. But are those claims true? Tampa Bay Times food critic Laura Reiley wanted to find out. And she discovered that often these labels are bogus. In one case, a meal advertised as veal schnitzel may have been frozen pork chops and sliced pork.
In the aftermath of her investigation, several restaurants changed their menus and chalkboards to reflect true food sourcing. I spoke with Reiley about the investigation and how what’s going on at Tampa Bay restaurants
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Last autumn, a US trade group said it would look to develop a voluntary regulatory compliance and certification programme for the term 'natural', with an eye on releasing the standard in the first half of next year. However, the plan has hit the buffers, another sign of how problematic the term - an attractive one for a growing number of shoppers - is in the country.
Organic & Natural Health is a body that includes IFOAM-Organics International, the umbrella body for the organic movement worldwide, alongside the Organic Consumers Association, as well as entities ranging from
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Do you ever buy one brand of cereal, chips, or juice over another because you see “natural” on the label and assume it’s better? Sure you do, and you have plenty of company. A recent nationally representative Consumer Reports survey (PDF) of 1,005 adults found that more than half of consumers usually seek out products with a "natural" food label, often in the false belief that they’re produced without genetically modified organisms, hormones, pesticides, or artificial ingredients.
In fact, for processed foods, that term has no clear meaning and is not regulated by any agency.
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Having studiously avoided this food labeling minefield for years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has surprised many in the trade by seeking comments on the definition of a word that has launched a thousand class action lawsuits (well almost): ‘natural’.
In an update this morning, the FDA said: "Because of the changing landscape of food ingredients and production, and in direct response to consumers who have requested that the FDA explore the use of the term 'natural,' the agency is asking the public to provide information and comments on the use of this term in the
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A food trade group is stepping in to give meaning to the word “natural”. The Organic and Natural Health Association (ONHA) will roll out a certification program, beginning in early 2016, that will offer a “natural” seal that participating companies can put on the front of their product packaging.
The seal comes after years of criticisms and lawsuits against food manufacturers such as Welch’s for allegedly misleading consumers with ambiguous package labels that do not necessarily accurately reflect the food contained inside.
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Subway said Tuesday that it plans to switch to meat raised without antibiotics over the next several years. The announcement comes after the company was targeted by advocacy groups calling for the change, with a coalition planning to deliver petitions to Subway's headquarters on Thursday.
The sandwich chain had said this summer that it would start switching to chicken raised without antibiotics important to human medicine by next year. Now, it says it will serve chicken that receive no antibiotics starting in March 2016. It will also make the change to turkey starting sometime next
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