What does "Natural" on a food package mean to you?

[Robin Garr]

It may just mean that somebody's lyin' ...

Is "Natural" A Food Marketing Scheme?
FoodRepublic.com
Why natural doesn't necessarily mean healthy
BY TOM ROSTON

What do Froot Loops, 7Up, Cheetos, chickens raised on a Perdue factory farm, and Lay's Honey Mustard potato chips all have in common? They all carry claims that they're made naturally—sort of.

What does that mean? Like the word, “natural,” itself, not much. So what if Froot Loops have "natural fruit flavors" or Cheetos, a product neither God nor Mother Nature herself could ever have conceived of, is made with "all natural oil." The food industry has warped the word “natural” to its own liking.

http://www.foodrepublic.com/2011/10/10/ ... ing-scheme

Natural, to me, means some giant food conglomerate is trying to put something over on unsuspecting consumers who think they buying something that's "better for them" than something else. If only people would read the ingredients label...

Ungrafted vines, indigenous yeasts, zero sulfur... oh, wait...

Not a thing.

About the same as "New!!"

John

[Robin Garr]

Ungrafted vines, indigenous yeasts, zero sulfur... oh, wait...

Salil, I thought instantly about the "natural wine" wars when I saw this - that's partly why I posted it. I thought I'd keep quiet, though, and wait to see how long it took for someone to mention it. You win the prize! (It's a bottle of Sparky Marquis' finest, by the way ... )

On a food package, it's proof that the manufacturer produces a crap product. Specifically, it means they utterly lack any concrete positive characteristics. If the product were not crap, there would be "no antibiotics," "free-range," "no animal by-products," or something, anything that might actually mean something.

I saw "natural" sausage for sale. As if the chickens just "naturally" decided to de-beak themselves, cram into coops, and Poof! turn into sausage. "Natural" apparently means the agribusiness feels it deserves credit for refraining from adulteration.

Wow, I didn't realize I felt so strongly about "natural."

Walt

Cynics, it is just as meaningful as private reserve on a wine bottle and we all know how much that counts toward quality.

It means the price is about 10% higher than a comparable product.

Cynics, it is just as meaningful as private reserve on a wine bottle and we all know how much that counts toward quality.

Private reserve? All the cool kids (at least in CA) are using Grand Cru now!

For me it tends to mean nothing at all.

What I mean is that its presence or non-presence on a label is really neither here nor there to why I enjoy or don't enjoy the product. Like anything, that determination is made purely by taste (both literally and figuratively). In other words, there are natural or fresh foods that I enjoy but not because they are natural but simply because I like their taste or texture. Likewise, I surely enjoy some products that have ingredients in them that even a high-tech lab could not decipher. But they taste good!

In that sense, food is really no different for me than, say, music or a painting. On the consuming end, you don't necessarily care what make of piano was used in the recording or if the paints were partly or purely oil-based. The beauty is always in the final product and how it moves you and makes you feel.

Just my humble but honest thoughts anyways.

Jeff

Means about as much as 'organic'. I've seen warehouses where there are two piles of produce, one heading for organic stores and one to other stores. All from the same field.....

[Robin Garr]

Means about as much as 'organic'.

That may be true in Canada, but in the US, to set the record straight, "organic" is regulated by law. "Natural" is entirely unregulated. "Organic" regulations do allow wiggle room for industrial food, but there are still standards that have to be met. I would assume that a barrister understands the difference ... and the loopholes.

[Jenise]

Private reserve? All the cool kids (at least in CA) are using Grand Cru now!

That's pretty funny.

Tangentially related: the other day someone posted a photo on Facebook of the "Premium Box Wine" aisle in their local supermarket. Now there's a headscratcher.

Robin, I wasn't commenting on the law, just the practices here. I'll bet you never see anyone breaking the laws down there, though, right.....
I think you'd be pretty surprised what goes on in the production/sorting barns when no inspectors are around.