No parent has the luxury of time it takes to decide if health claims like “natural” made on food packages are legitimate. Learn more about the three common yet confusing claims that consumer advocates are lobbying to change.

by Lori Zanteson

The supermarket is not the place I choose to linger. The last thing I want to do, especially with kids in tow, is choke my way through the maze of food labels. I know I need to read each and every package ingredient, and mommy guilt dutifully kicks in when I don’t. The reality is that lack of time and energy make food decisions a challenge. The result? Reliance on faulty front-of-package health claims.

Unfortunately for us parents, these claims are rampant on products marketed to kids. While anyone would raise an eyebrow at a sugar-steeped cereal’s “Whole Grains!” stamp, not all claims are so transparent.

It’s a serious enough issue that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has realized the need to take action against such deceptive claims. In March 2010, 16 major food manufacturers received warning from the FDA to correct these claims. Several popular children’s food brands were targeted.

As consumers we’re so accustomed to the “Kid Tested” and “Heart Healthy” type claims that it’s easy to accept them as true. But these days, manufacturers would have us believe food can do everything from helping our brain to warding off disease.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) believes food labeling is such a confusing mess that in February 2010 it published a report, Food Labeling Chaos: The Case for Reform, outlining consumer-friendly changes that need to be made including regulating front-of-package health claims and overhauling ingredient labels.

Until we see such changes, look twice when you see “natural,” “organic,” and “made from” claims.

Natural truth

Perhaps the most deceptive health claim on packaging today is the “natural” or “all natural” claim. Its visions of fresh-from-the-farm healthy offerings reach out to parents who want to have simple natural foods on their menu when parenting children. And it sells.

The problem is the claim is completely unregulated and meaningless. Sugar, salt, and fat are all natural, but they are not necessarily healthy. There are “natural” ice creams, potato chips, and cereals, but a “natural” claim doesn’t mean there are no artificial or unhealthful ingredients. The only truth in this advertising is found through close inspection of the ingredient label.

Use of the term “natural flavors” on the other hand, is regulated. To qualify, flavors must be made from “natural” forms, plant or animal, such as a spice, fruit, vegetable, bark, or leaf. But be aware that though the flavor is derived from a natural source, the end result may be something that only vaguely resembles its origins.

Natural meat and poultry are also defined and regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). To qualify as natural, meat must be minimally processed and cannot contain artificial ingredients or added color. Though growth hormones are not permitted, low levels of antibiotics to promote growth are. Yet, there is no system in place to actually verify “natural” claims.

Certified organic

Easily confused with natural, “organic” is actually quite different. Organic refers to the way a food is grown, handled, and processed. It has nothing to do with a food’s nutritional makeup, though some studies are revealing a connection between the two.

Unlike natural, organic is more strictly regulated by the USDA. To bear the USDA certified organic label, food must be grown without chemical pesticides and fertilizers and developed without genetic engineering. Likewise, organic meat must come from animals that don’t eat feed grown with chemical pesticides and fertilizers and they can’t have been given either growth hormones or antibiotics.

Be sure to look for the official seal, as opposed to fraudulent claims which are out there.

Single ingredient foods like fruits and vegetables are labeled 100 percent organic and can carry the USDA Organic seal. Products with more than one ingredient must contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients to bear the seal.

This seems straightforward, but having the seal affixed to one’s products is voluntary, which means not all products claiming to be organic truly are. If a product contains at least 70 percent organic ingredients, the manufacturer can’t use the seal but may use “made with organic ingredients” and list the word “organic” beside the ingredient on the label.

As with any label, look at all the ingredients. The presence and number of undesirable ingredients may trump the value of those that are organic.

“Made with” little honesty

“Made with” and “made from” claims warrant an even closer look. “Made with real fruit” is a common claim in children’s food and drinks that is quite deceptive.

Many “fruit drinks” and “fruit snacks” are not even made from the very fruit shown on their labels and are often high in sugar, artificial colors, and flavors. It is common for fruit snacks not to include any real fruit except pear concentrate, which is easily disguised as other fruits with the addition of natural and artificial ingredients. This is especially true in products for very young children.

The recent FDA crackdown on misleading claims targeted several companies for misleading juice content and unauthorized nutrient claims. These are large, go-to brand names popular with families such as Gerber, Beechnut, and Nestle (Juicy Juice).

Gerber Graduates Juice Treats Fruit Medley shows a grouping of several fruits on the front of the package, yet a glance at the label reveals less than two percent raspberry juice and none of the other fruits pictured. The first ingredients listed, however, are corn syrup and sugar.

Time for change!

Disappointing? Definitely, but a closer look will spot the deception almost every time. With the CSPI and the FDA on our side, false health claims will disappear and food labels will be a breeze to scan, even with the kids in tow!

For more information:

• Center for Science in the Public Interest
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Labeling Guide
• United States Department of Agriculture Labeling and Consumer Protection

Lori Zanteson is a Southern California-based writer and mother of three who specializes in health, food, and fitness for families.

© “Natural” illustration by Mpavlov | Dreamstime.com • USDA Organic seal courtesy of USDA