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What does ‘natural’ really mean on food packaging?

With thousands of food and health products now on the market, it’s become a challenge for consumers to identify what is “right” and “good for their health” from what might prove to be a big disaster!

‘Natural,’ as the name suggests, is any product made from natural ingredients directly obtained from plants, minerals, and/or animal derived ingredients rather than synthetic compounds or petrochemicals.

It means free of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides and other toxic chemicals. Natural ingredients, organic or otherwise, should ensure that petrochemical and synthetic compounds aren’t accumulating in your body and the environment.

However, in Australia this isn’t always the case. Due to the lack of food labeling standards, it’s often difficult to determine if a product is truly natural. The same standards apply to the word fresh.

Foods Standards Australia and New Zealand states that the listing of product ingredients is required on the container or on the product itself, if not packed in a container. The mandatory information standard requires display of information to allow consumers to be informed.

Yet, there are no regulations in place for nutritional content health claims and the claim to treat or prevent serious health conditions.

The current Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (FSANZ) has been under review. Council members say these revisions will ensure claims are scientifically substantiated and not misleading.

It is proposed that foods carrying general and high level health claims will also need to meet certain eligibility criteria.

In 2008 the Ministerial Council asked FSANZ to review parts of the draft standard and also to take into account the outcomes of an independent food labeling review. A food labeling review report was released in January 2011.

Work is continuing on FSANZ’s review of the draft standard. However, the Ministerial Council has extended the completion date for the review and  has yet to advise FSANZ of the new timeline.

Until this process is complete, product labeling can continue to include the word ‘natural’ for marketing purposes, even if that claim is misleading.

So, in the meantime, when you see the term ‘natural’ used to describe food, remain apprehensive about what you’re really purchasing.

Remember, many substances may be derived from natural products but that doesn’t necessarily make them healthy.

We’re not suggesting you stop purchasing products labeled ‘natural,’ just to be an informed consumer. When it comes to your health, it really pays to do some research so you know exactly what the individual contents of a product are, their source and their intended use.

The American FDA or Food and Drug Administration is looking at introducing mandatory requirements for the introduction of food labeling for cinemas.

Currently there is an exemption for this requirement however with some supersized containers of popcorn having as much as 6000 kJ. There is a strong move to give the public greater information of what they are consuming.

With cinemas relying on the sales from snack food amounting to 35% of revenue, there is a lot of resistance to the new law.

Apart from the huge number of kilojoules contained within an average serve of popcorn, there is also the other part of pop corn contents that is often missed; sodium or the salt content.

Food standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) performed their own testing through their laboratories to determine the sodium content [sodium chloride] of various take away and packaged foods from September 2008 – April 2009.

While the samples were not taken from actual cinemas but rather microwave or prepackaged products that required the consumer to follow instructions and make their own popcorn, there were disturbingly high levels of sodium.

With a recommended daily intake of between 920-1600mg, the FSANZ found the average sodium content was 516mg while the maximum was 940mg so just 100grams of popcorn will reach your RDI.

Ultimately we need to reduce our junk food intake by making more informed decisions based on the energy, salt and fat content.

This is a move in the right direction having standardised labelling on all food products irrespective whether it is sold in a take away restaurant or a cinema.