FonDo > Food Labels Demystified
Food Labels Demystified
Don't get sucked in by the spin
By Molly Jones
Cage-free. Organic. Free-range. Made with natural ingredients. Such phrases seem plastered all over products in every aisle of the grocery store. But it’s hard to know the difference between the facts about these products and the spin advertisers put on them. Here is a list of common food labels and an explanation of what they really mean:
USDA Certified-Organic
This label accompanies organic foods that have been inspected by the government. In terms of meat, poultry, eggs and dairy, the animals must be free of antibiotics or growth hormones, fed with organic materials and granted access to the outdoors. Plants are grown without pesticides or synthetic materials. The USDA has 55 certifying agencies in the United States that enforce production and processing guidelines. Look on the packaging for the USDA seal and the location of the certifying agency that inspected the food.
Natural Ingredients
There are no official government regulations for this label. In general, it means the food contains no artificial flavors or synthetic ingredients. “‘Natural’ is a pretty broad term,” says Brenda Rogers, manager of organic services at the USDA Minnesota certifying agency.
Free Range
The only USDA regulation is that animals must have access to the outdoors, but the label has no other criteria. As a result, the quality or size of the outdoor area is not regulated. For example, a chicken may be kept in a windowless shed with a very small opening to the outdoors, and it could still be considered a “free range” chicken.
Cage Free
This term really just means increased cage size. The government has given no criteria for the quality of space the animals have.
Hormone Free
“This [term] is rather deceiving,” Rogers says. Hormones are not legal, so labeling food as “hormone free” is simply stating the obvious, though it’s still fair game, since “the USDA allows labeling of anything, as long as it’s true,” Rogers says.