Disagreements and discrepancies food products labeled 'natural' have given birth to numerous lawsuits and complaints as more and more consumers continue to challenge just how 'natural' are natural-labeled food products.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already received three citizen petitions from Sara Lee Corporation, Grocers Manufacturers Association and the Sugar Association to clarify the somewhat-loosely define term on many food products. Another citizen petition from the Consumers Union asked the FDA to limit the use of the term 'natural' on food labels. The agency is now asking consumers for their thoughts on how they should define 'natural' on food product labels.
The agency's informal policy on natural-labeled products states that "the food does not contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances." The agency has recognized that the informal policy was not proposed to cover the production methods which leads many to question is the product still natural if it contained genetically modified tomatoes? What about packed salad greens that were grown in a farm using pesticide or corn syrup with high fructose?
Ivan Wasserman, a lawyer from Manatt, Phelps & Philips, has been following the issue. He commented that by requesting public comments on the issue, the agency is obligated to review the submissions, which meant FDA has created a huge project by simply announcing it. However, the FDA has not made any announcements about a new ruling on using the term 'natural'.
"If the FDA were to create a more strict, more comprehensive definition, it would give manufacturers a lot more guidance on whether or not they could use the term 'natural' on their food products," said Wasserman.
Kicking off on Nov. 12, the FDA's public online questionnaire will crowd source comments from consumers on how to define the term 'natural'. It encourages consumers to voice out their thoughts on whether manufacturing techniques should be covered in determining if a product is 'natural' and how to differentiate 'natural' from 'organic' and 'healthy'.
The questionnaire also dips into the concerns surrounding the prevalence of genetically modified ingredients of natural-labeled products. Comments can be sent both online and offline.
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