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Analysis
"All Natural" Means Just That … Right?
January 16, 2008
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal agency that regulates the labeling of all foods and beverages except meat and poultry recently “dropped a bombshell” when they admitted to the public that they have no formal definition for natural or all-natural food products, and furthermore, confirmed last week it has no plans to create one anytime soon.
If that proclamation makes the readers of SMGN feel somewhat unnerved, we think it’s for good reason. Natural and organic foods and beverages accounted for a whopping $26.2 billion in sales in 2006, up 14 percent from $22.9 billion in 2005, according to Jason Phillips, research manager at the Boulder, Colorado-based Nutrition Business Journal. Indications are that 2007 sales topped $30 billion, although the final numbers aren't in yet, Phillips said.
In other words, exhibiting healthier eating habits and consciously making healthier food choices has become, thankfully, the rage in the 21st century. Unlike the transient frivolity of an earlier generation's "pet rocks" and mood rings, we hope that this is a rage that will persist until morbid obesity and nutrition deficiency-related illnesses are eradicated altogether. It follows, then, that distributors, retailers and consumers alike ought to be on the same page in terms of knowing from the get-go just how "natural," or conversely, processed and additive-laden given foods are.
The question over what natural means already has ended up in court. One year ago, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) sued Kraft Foods Inc. on behalf of Linda Rex of Boynton Beach, Florida, claiming the company's labeling of Capri Sun products as natural was deceptive. Capri Sun is not natural because it contains high-fructose corn syrup, the lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County Circuit court contended.
“When I saw ‘All Natural’ on the label, that sounded healthier than soda,” said Ms. Rex, who had purchased Capri Sun for a young relative visiting from Ireland. “But when I got home and got out my glasses, I threw it in the garbage when I realized it contained high-fructose corn syrup and was nearly identical to soda.”
Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Kraft announced it would drop the phrase "all-natural" from Capri Sun, replacing it with a line stating: "No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives."
The Capri Sun matter is only the tip of the proverbial iceburg; however. In May, 2007, CSPI informed Cadbury Schweppes that it would file a lawsuit against the company for rebranding 7UP as “100% Natural,” despite the fact that 7UP includes the factory-made sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup. CSPI agreed to a request from Cadbury to discuss settlement possibilities before a lawsuit is filed. Those discussions are continuing, but CSPI is likely to sue if the company doesn’t agree to changes in the near future.
The bottom line, Readers, is whether or not the FDA continues to "drag its feet" on this important issue, do your own due diligence as distributor, retailer or consumer and be sure that when it comes to items for human consumption, always carefully READ THE LABELS. Naturally!
By Lisa Carvin, Freelance Reporter