Natural food and all natural foods is a term widely used in food and marketing labels with a variety of definitions, most of which are unclear. This term is often assumed to imply unprocessed food and its ingredients are all natural products (in the chemist's sense of the term), thus conveying appeal to nature. But the lack of standards in most jurisdictions means that the term does not guarantee anything. In some countries, the term "natural" is defined and enforced. In other countries, such as the United States, is not enforced.
Video Natural foods
Multiple definitions
"Natural food" is often assumed to be unprocessed foods, or does not contain food additives, or does not contain certain additives such as hormones, antibiotics, sweeteners, food colors, or flavors that do not come from food. In fact, many people (63%) when surveyed indicated a preference for a product labeled "natural" compared to unmarked counterparts, based on common belief (86% of consumers surveyed) that the term "natural" indicates that food does not contain ingredients - artificial materials. This term is used and used variously on labels and advertisements.
The International Food and Agriculture Organization Codex Alimentarius does not recognize the term "natural" but has a standard for organic food.
Basically, almost all ingredients come from natural products of plants and animals
Maps Natural foods
Process-based and product-based definitions
United Kingdom
In the UK, the Food Standards Agency has issued criteria for the use of multiple terms in food labels. The guidelines, in general, limit the natural use of foods that have "ingredients produced by nature, not human labor or harassed by humans." Natural flavoring is explicitly defined by separate laws.
There are different standards for different types of foods, such as dairy products. It also provides a standard for some food processing techniques, such as fermentation or pasteurization. The standard explicitly excludes "food derived from a new process, GM or cloning."
Definition by process only
Canada
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency limits the "natural" use of foods that have not been significantly altered by processing and providing examples of processes that do not alter food significantly. This includes two special additional requirements:
- Natural foods or foodstuffs are not expected to contain, or contain, supplemental vitamins, mineral nutrients, artificial flavors or food additives.
- Natural foods or foodstuffs do not have significantly removed or altered constituents or fractions, except water removal.
Israel
In Israel, natural ingredients are defined as part of Standard Prepacked Food Labeling (Israeli Standard SI 1145, legally binding).
This standard offers a list of 33 processes that are allowed in natural ingredients, all of which are physical treatments and not chemical modifications. This includes mixing, cleaning, extrusion, freezing, drying, etc.
Certain materials can be called "natural" if not through any processing except those listed. All foods can be called "natural" if food is not a mixture of food (even if it is all natural), has no additional ingredients, and only goes through the process.
No definitions
United States
In the United States, there are laws/regulations and agents to protect consumers when buying food products, which are specifically dedicated to packaging and labeling. Some laws and organizations include the Law on Nutrition and Labeling, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
The FSIS is a subdivision of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is responsible for "ensuring that the country's commercially safe, healthy, well-labeled, and packaged commercial supply of meat, poultry and egg products." USDA partners with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop and issue regulations in the appropriate use of "natural" labels; however, the FDA has no specific rules for "natural" labeling. It's suggested on their website "agencies do not mind the use of the term if food does not contain additional colors, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances."
Furthermore, the FDA has not developed any rules or regulations about the decisive features of what qualifies a product as "natural." The FDA does not refer to the "natural" definition in their informal policy (Ref 53) that defines "natural" as "nothing artificial or synthetic (including color regardless of source) included in, or has been added to, products that are not normally expected to exist there. "
The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits false or misleading labeling. Agricultural Marketing Service The USDA has a standard for organic food. In August 2005, the USDA had a section governing "natural claims" in the Standard Handbook and Labeling Policy; the USDA regulatory jurisdiction applies only to meat, poultry, and egg products.
Because there are some rules governing "natural" food labeling, manufacturers may include ingredients that may not be considered fair by some consumers.
The poultry industry has been criticized by the Center for Science in the Public Interest to label the chicken "all natural" after being injected with salt solution up to 25% by weight. There is no legal way to prevent this labeling.
Although there are several definitions of US law for natural foods, there are informal or informal definitions, none of which are uniformly applied to "natural" food.
See also
- Healthy food
- List of foods
- List of organic food topics
- Nature
- Special food
- Organic food culture
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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