How to Understand Natural and Organic Food Claims

Most people know that there is a difference between organic and all-natural foods. After all, something special has to be done in order to obtain that little green and white label that is stamped on every USDA approved organic food product. But exactly what those differences are still has many people left in the dark.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. The broadest answer is that organic food means something and natural food labels mean nothing.

2. Organic food is substantiated by a food certification system. Organic food producers have their facilities regularly inspected to ensure their facilities, ingredients and practices meet a certain standard.

3. All-natural, free-range, hormone-free, sustainably harvested and natural may appear on a food label that is not organic. These claims must be truthful but they are not regulated or certified by an independent government body, but the term "organic" is.

4. According to the USDA, organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; ionizing radiation.

Tips & Warnings

• Food is certified organic if it has a green and white United State Department of Agriculture sticker. If a product claims to be organic and doesn't have a label, it's not certified.
• Virtually any food manufacturer can call its product all natural. There are only two exceptions: "Natural flavors" means by law that a flavor has to be derived from natural sources like fruit juice, spices, herbs, etc. And in meat, the USDA allows the all natural label only for minimally processed meat and poultry products without artificial ingredients or added colors.

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