While the term organic on food labels is strictly defined and backed by standards, the term ‘natural’ doesn’t have a clear meaning.
After receiving petitions asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to define the term “natural” on food labels, the agency called for comments and received 5,000 before the comment period closed Tuesday.
However, while the agency goes about its rulemaking, consumers are in the dark about what natural means in relation to the foods that they buy.
The majority of consumers, 73 percent, look for foods labeled as “natural” when they decide which foods to buy, a survey released by Consumer Reports Tuesday shows. However, the term “natural” on food labels doesn’t have a clear meaning and isn’t regulated by any government agency.
Ironically, 58 percent of consumers, 15 percent less, look for the term organic on the label, which is strictly defined and backed by standards.
In a 2015 Consumer Reports survey, almost two-thirds of shoppers believed the natural label meant more than it does, and nearly half incorrectly believed that natural claims on labels have been independently verified. According to this survey and a 2014 survey, the majority of consumers expect processed foods labeled “natural” to contain no artificial ingredients or processing aids, no toxic pesticides, or no GMOs.
However, this isn’t the case.
“Given this overwhelming consumer confusion, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration needs to act now to stop the misleading use of the ‘natural’ label,” said Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., director of the Consumer Reports Food Safety and Sustainability Center.
The word natural should be banned from food packaging, Rangan said.
“If the agency does not ban, it should establish a highly meaningful standard that is in line with consumer expectations for ‘natural’ foods – that they be produced according to the government’s standards for organic food and that they do not contain artificial ingredients. And any claim should be independently verified to ensure it is true.”
Consumer Reports petitioned the FDA in 2014 to ban the word “natural” on food labels, and it keeps urging the agency to take action to avoid misleading consumers. In response, the FDA asked the public to give their opinions on what the term should mean in food labeling.
When the public comment period ending Tuesday, Consumer Reports submitted a petition with nearly 250,000 comments and a letter signed by 19 organizations, asking that the FDA ban or establish meaningful standards for the term in food labeling. Among other organizations joining the initiative are Food and Water Watch and National Consumers League.
Other findings from the Consumer Reports’ 2016 survey: 77 percent of consumers mistakenly believe that the FDA evaluates or determines the safety of food ingredients and 66 percent mistakenly believe that the FDA keeps track of new ingredients introduced on the food market. However, the FDA regulation called GRAS or generally recognized as safe doesn’t provide these safeguards, and companies can say new ingredients are safe and use them without notifying the FDA.
Consumer Reports is calling on the FDA to do more to review and track the safety of ingredients in food, he said.
The survey also showed that 86 percent of consumers believe that genetically engineered foods should be labeled before being sold. The FDA veterinary committee recently approved genetically engineered salmon, and 53 percent of consumers say they’ll be less likely to buy any salmon if they can’t tell which is genetically engineered.
Consumer Reports continues to call for all genetically engineered or modified food to be clearly labeled, Rangan said.
“Our survey shows that the FDA is letting consumers down in important areas around food production and labeling,” he said. “Consumers need to feel confident in the food that they buy, prepare, and feed to their families. The FDA must do more to ensure the food on grocery store shelves holds up to consumer expectations.”
