The Battle Over “Natural” Foods
Posted on April 8, 2008
Filed Under Food, Law, Social |
CVNToday - Everybody wants “natural” products these days, so food producers are quick to label their products as “natural”, even if in some cases this is stretching the facts or bending the rules. In fact the rules - usually spelled out by the US Food and Drug Aministration (FDA) - are sometimes not clear. As is the case with the sweetener called high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
In response to a question from FoodNavigator-USA.com about the legitimacy of food producers labeling foods “natural” that contain HFCS, an FDA spokesperson gave an unequivocal “no”.
This was the FDA spokesperson’s comment on HFCS: “The use of synthetic fixing agents in the enzyme preparation, which is then used to produce HFCS, would not be consistent with our… policy regarding the use of the term ‘natural’. Consequently, we would object to the use of the term ‘natural’ on a product containing HFCS.”
This sounds fairly straightforward, but the Corn Refiners Association in the US has challenged this, saying it is not a ruling at all, but just “the personal view of that one employee who was responding to a reporter’s question.”
Until the FDA makes a more official ruling on this matter, food producers will likely continue to bend the definition of “natural” as far as they can until somebody gets slapped with a serious penalty.
Until then the FDA advises “If anyone is unclear as to the appropriateness of using the term ‘natural’ on their product then they should contact FDA.”
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