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Why should food labels affect your shopping choices?

food label
Picture of Kody Hanner
Kody Hanner

How food labels came into my life

Once upon a time, food safety was my largest concern. This was because I worked as a food safety specialist in food plants, making sure that they met federal food safety safety requirements. Honestly, I loved what I did in the sense that I was getting to work in agriculture, thinking outside the box, and implementing new ways of meeting the requirements in the plants that I worked for. 

Now, not that I don’t care if our food isn’t safe now; it’s that I care if it’s wholesome. Hint… hint… they aren’t always the same. To be honest, wholesome food created or processed by our family or a trusted butcher is probably safer than anything in most commercial food plants anyways.

The turning point on food labels

I began to realize this after the first Third Party USDA Organic Audit I participated in. The auditor came in and asked for my organic paperwork from our suppliers and our “organic procedures.” I offered a tour, signed forms from our team that they completed the “organic procedures”, and results from our lab and others showing that our products were pesticide-free. The auditor politely declined. At that point, I asked what type of certification process our organic suppliers went through. I was told a similar process with a shrug. 

I know that our plant did everything by the book to ensure that we did not cross-contaminate, everything was labeled, we had procedures in place, and we went above and beyond every chance that we could. Were other plants doing this? Or were there companies out there that had no opportunities for growth because they couldn’t afford expensive “inspections” even though they are simply a paperwork trail game?

What do food labels mean?

This is where I started to look at some of the other labels on our food and really ask what they mean. Honestly, I really didn’t see much of a point in many of them, especially when I found out that the “Organic” label falls under marketing and not even safety. 

So here is what some of them mean:

Certified Labels

USDA Organic Food Label

USDA Organic Food Label

This label states that the agricultural products (produce, meat, processed foods, condiments, and beverages) meet the USDA’s National Organic Program Requirements. Therefore, in order for a food to be labeled organic, at least 95% of its ingredients must be made with no synthetic growth hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, biotechnology, synthetic ingredients, or irradiation used in production or processing. For a product to state “made with organic ingredients,” then at least 70% of the ingredients must meet the NOP requirements.

Personally, I feel like that leaves a lot of room for leading a customer to believe they are getting a clean product. When in fact, even that 5% could be sea salt contaminated with mercury or “natural ingredients” that can be lab-synthesized. I am not saying that all organic products are inherently bad, and most companies (especially small ones) are going to want to protect their reputation. 

Certified Naturally Grown Food Label

Certified Naturally Grown Food Label

This label is for farmers who felt the USDA Organic Certification was too cost-prohibitive. So, they teamed up with other farmers to act as inspectors within a non-profit organization called Certified Naturally Grown. This certification states that the product was raised organically without actually having the Organic Certification. 

This feels much more trustworthy to me, having farmers inspecting farmers than bureaucrats inspecting farmers. Plus, we see the term natural in so many places and trust me, it means nothing! In this case, certified naturally grown does.

Fair Trade Food Label

Fair Trade Food Label

When it comes to the fair trade label, it refers to workers and economic and environmental standards. The workers must receive fair wages, safe and equitable working conditions, the right to join trade unions, and child or forced labor is prohibited. Fair trade standards for crops must be grown, produced, and processed in a manner that supports social development, economic development, and environmental development. Standards have been established for coffee, tea, cocoa, honey, bananas, joists, cotton, flowers, gold, rice, spices and herbs, sports balls, wine, composite products, fresh fruit, and sugar.

This is a great standard to have; however, this certification is not about food safety. It is about ethics.

Non GMO Project Verified Food Label

Non-GMO Project Verified Food Label

This certification is by a third-party labeling program called The Non-GMO Project. They verify that the products go through the process from seed to shelf to ensure that they are not produced using genetic engineering.

The last time that I worked with this program was when I first started working in food safety. I remember it being a nightmare of obtaining documentation from each of our hundreds of suppliers to attempt to prove that they were not from GMO ingredients. It was incredibly frustrating when only a handful of crops are actually genetically modified, such as corn, soybeans, alfalfa, papaya, potato, canola, wheat, rice, cotton, sugar beet, apple, squash, and beets.

The plant I worked for was already an organic and gluten-free baking company, so many of our products already went above and beyond any verification out there. But anything that had “natural flavorings” was out of the question because they were proprietary blends that they were not going to share with us; honey has to be from a hive that doesn’t have GMO crops growing within 5 miles of it (which is virtually impossible so the only Non-GMO honey came from New Zealand, literally an island), and forget getting any dairy product certified even if we wanted to. I really hope this process has gotten better and more efficient since I quit working in food safety.

Grass Fed Food Label

Grass-Fed Food Label

This standard is for ruminant animals like cows, goats, bison, and lamb that is only fed on pasture. They are not finished out on grain (meaning they are grass-fed until a certain point and then fed grain for a prescribed period before slaughter). They are also raised without antibiotics, synthetic hormones, and confinement facilities and have animal welfare standards. Other animals that can be raised on pasture, like chickens and pigs, must have some access to pasture, but there is no standard from the USDA.

I am not as familiar with this certification, but it feels like one I could be behind more so than some of the others.

Non-Verified Labels

These labels are not certified or inspected in any way. It is completely up to the farmer to meet the standards. Most farmers will want to uphold their reputation, but keep in mind that these are simply marketing labels.

Hormone-Free/RBGH-Free

This means that the farmers have not injected their animals with artificial growth hormones or steroids. However, the USDA prohibits giving hormones to chickens, so any commercially purchased chicken that was butchered at a USDA-inspected plant is not going to have hormones.

If you’re worried about hormones in your meat, I suggest buying from a direct-to-consumer producer because then you can ask your farmer what their practices are, and you are supporting your local economy.

Raised Without Antibiotics

Because of overcrowding and poor conditions in confinement farming, a lot of livestock are fed antibiotics throughout their lifespan. 

There is concern that this causes superbugs and other issues, and this standard only applies to fed antibiotics, not as needed for actual infections (which I support for the humane treatment of the animal). However, where the problem lies is that antibiotics have a withdrawal period of about a week. So even if an animal is treated throughout its whole life, they could be pulled off of antibiotics a week before slaughter, and no residue would be present in the meat.

All-Natural

There is no universal standard for this. 

If you want all-natural, find a local farmer that matches your values. Everyone has their own practices and their reasons for them. 

Free-Range

Free-Range poultry is defined as poultry that has spent at least part of its life outside and does not live in cages. This could mean they are raised in confinement buildings and have 10 minutes outside. There is no USDA definition for free-range eggs, beef, or pork.

What does this all mean?

Really, it can mean whatever you want it to mean. What I see is two things. 

  • Decide where you want reform and stand behind it. 
  • Decide what is worth your money. Don’t spend more for a label that has no standards or doesn’t meet your values. 

There are several less common labels that I did not list here, and there are some, like Kosher or Gluten Free, that are pretty standard in what they are. Please do your research on any label you see, and don’t take them at face value!

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