10 Food Label Lies

Don’t spend extra money buying into marketing hype and misinformation. Look for food claims and labels you can trust.

Natural

The lie: The implications of this label can make anyone feel good about their farm-fresh, straight-from-the-dirt…can of powdered lemonade. Unfortunately, there isn’t any official definition of “natural,” except when it comes to meat. The USDA has defined it as any product “containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed (a process which does not fundamentally alter the raw product).” Their definition doesn’t, however, make any statements about how animals were raise or whether the animals were fed hormones or antibiotics. The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates fruits, vegetables, and most processed foods, doesn’t have any official definition for the term. Essentially, a product can be as “natural” as the manufacturer would like you to believe and may contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and artificial sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup.

To get the real thing: Again, buying organic is your best protection. Alternatively, you can simply buy more fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts; the fewer ingredients involved, the less you have to worry about any of them being artificial