http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/business/15food.html
Today’s article in the New York Times on functional foods got me thinking about the word “natural” on so many food packages. Just yesterday a friend was snacking on a bag of pretzels flavored as “everything” bagels…they were shaped like tiny little bagels and did look like mini, mini-everything bagels. The package contained the word “natural” in several different places (including “naturally delicious” which of course is a matter of opinion). In reading the ingredient list there were many ingredients, including food additives used as preservatives, coloring, and flavor. What is “natural” about that?
In addition to many of the functional food health claims discussed in the NY Times article, consumers should be leery of the “natural” buzzword, too. One dictionary definition of natural is “present in or produced in nature; not artificial.” Hardly describes pretzel bagels. Before the nutrition labeling act, such practices as calling an oil “light” because it was lighter in color, was widespread. The NLEA was supposed to make food labels truthful and easy to understand but health claim creep has overtaken food packaging. Marketing is often way ahead of science and it shouldn’t take a PhD in nutrition to figure out the meaning of all of these claims (or a magnifying glass to read the fine, fine print).
I suggested to my friend a really natural snack…nuts, natural, unsalted, delicious nuts. A handful of walnuts, almonds or pistachios will satisfy hunger, provide some protein, and lots of other good-for-you nutrients like fiber and Vitamin E. So next time you get the urge to snack, watch out for the “natural” claims and go for something really natural.
I thought I would just leave a quick note to say how this is an interesting and well-presented blog. Keep up the good work and I look forward to reading more posts in the future. I also found a very interesting and a great blogsite that gives interesting tips about beauty and nutrition at http://www.beravishing.com/
What’s up friends, you are sharing your opinion regarding natural Food Packaging.
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Thanks to everything.
Food Package Testing
Excellent post. I think a lot of times consumers are too obsessed with the word “organic” when really they should be looking for the word “natural” in their food ingredients. Personally, I'm a big fan of all natural take out food. It's a great way to try new foods all of the time while also continuing to eat healthy.