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 labeling of human food products.”

The move comes in part because the FDA has recieved several citizen’s petitions asking that it define the term ‘natural’ on food labels, plus others asking that it prohibit the term of food labels, said the agency.

“We also note that some federal courts, as a result of a litigation between private parties, have requested administrative determinations from the FDA regarding whether fod products containing ingredients produced using genetic engineering or foods containing high fructose corn syrup may be labeled as ‘natural’.”

FDA policy on ‘natural’ was not intended to address food production methods

The FDA published non-binding guidance in 1993 saying natural means that “nothing artificial or synthetic (including all color additives regardless of source) has been included in, or has been added to, a food that would not normally be expected to be in the food”.

However, it did not clarif the status of foods containing high fructose corn syrup (more on this HERE), GMOs and a raft of other ingredients that make stakeholders believe do not belong in a poduct labeled as ‘all-natural’, it acknowledged.