RADIO TRANSCRIPT

Date: April 13, 2020
Agent: Emily Troutman

This is Emily Troutman, FCS Agent with N.C. Cooperative Extension, Burke County Center.

You may notice that some products in our food system have a label stating that they are “All Natural.” Although the FDA has not engaged in rulemaking to establish a formal definition for the term "natural," they do have a longstanding policy concerning the use of "natural" in human food labeling.

The FDA has considered the term "natural" to mean that nothing artificial or synthetic (including all color additives regardless of the source) has been included in, or has been added to, a food that would not normally be expected to be in that food. However, this policy was not intended to address food production methods, such as the use of pesticides, nor did it explicitly address food processing
or manufacturing methods, such as thermal technologies, pasteurization, or irradiation.

The FDA also did not consider whether the term "natural" should describe any nutritional or other health benefits. While USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service defines this label claim, it is not verified by a third party and may be misleading to consumers. In the case of meat and eggs, it is important to remember that this claim does not describe anything about how an animal was raised or other production practices. Rather, it simply refers to the processing and characteristics of the final meat or poultry product. In other words, all fresh meat such as a fresh pork chop, would be considered ‘natural’ since the meat is in its original state, and has been minimally processed without artificial ingredients or additives.

This has been Emily Troutman with N.C. Cooperative Extension, Burke County Center and for more information, contact us at 764-9480.