Grocery Store
Tasha Adams
HUN1201
2/27/13
Grocery store
“All natural” was the second most common claim made on new food products in 2008. Unfortunately, both the FDA and USDA have vague rules about this phrase, and have let manufacturers that incorrectly use this claim remained in the marketplace. Products like Hunt’s Tomato Sauce and “All Natural” Snapple Tea contain citric acid as an additive. Hunt’s Tomato Sauce’s claim as being “All Natural” is even more misleading considering the product is made of reconstituted tomato paste, and not whole tomatoes crushed soon after being picked, as many would assume. Some products containing high-fructose corn syrup (made through complex chemical industrial processes) are even able to get away with the “All Natural” label.
Certain "All Natural" deli meats have ingredients that are clearly additives one would not find if they cooked and sliced up their own natural turkey at home. The USDA also lets meat and poultry products claim to be “All Natural” when injected with beef or chicken broth, which not only increases the sodium levels to unnatural and less healthy levels, but the water inflates the weight of the product, increasing the price. "All natural" is not a label enforced strictly enough at this point to be trusted.
The USDA recommends that consumers “make half your grains whole.” Many products emphasize “Made with Whole Grains” on packaging, and even use dark brown colors and deceptive names to indicate a product is associated with the health benefits of whole grains. Unfortunately, most of these food items actually have ordinary refined wheat flour as their main ingredient, as they are not required to disclose the percentage of whole grains versus refined grains. Although still a vague indicator as to the amount, according to Understanding Nutrition by Whitney and Rolfes, one safeguard is to check the listed ingredients. Ingredients must be listed in order of predominance, so if something like “Enriched Wheat Flour” is
HUN1201
2/27/13
Grocery store
“All natural” was the second most common claim made on new food products in 2008. Unfortunately, both the FDA and USDA have vague rules about this phrase, and have let manufacturers that incorrectly use this claim remained in the marketplace. Products like Hunt’s Tomato Sauce and “All Natural” Snapple Tea contain citric acid as an additive. Hunt’s Tomato Sauce’s claim as being “All Natural” is even more misleading considering the product is made of reconstituted tomato paste, and not whole tomatoes crushed soon after being picked, as many would assume. Some products containing high-fructose corn syrup (made through complex chemical industrial processes) are even able to get away with the “All Natural” label.
Certain "All Natural" deli meats have ingredients that are clearly additives one would not find if they cooked and sliced up their own natural turkey at home. The USDA also lets meat and poultry products claim to be “All Natural” when injected with beef or chicken broth, which not only increases the sodium levels to unnatural and less healthy levels, but the water inflates the weight of the product, increasing the price. "All natural" is not a label enforced strictly enough at this point to be trusted.
The USDA recommends that consumers “make half your grains whole.” Many products emphasize “Made with Whole Grains” on packaging, and even use dark brown colors and deceptive names to indicate a product is associated with the health benefits of whole grains. Unfortunately, most of these food items actually have ordinary refined wheat flour as their main ingredient, as they are not required to disclose the percentage of whole grains versus refined grains. Although still a vague indicator as to the amount, according to Understanding Nutrition by Whitney and Rolfes, one safeguard is to check the listed ingredients. Ingredients must be listed in order of predominance, so if something like “Enriched Wheat Flour” is