When Can a Food Product Be Labeled as โNaturalโ?
If you’re creating a label for your food product which you intend to sell at farmers markets and specialty stores, you will naturally be inclined to include the word “natural” on it. After all, you’re not selling Frootios, Cheez Squiggles or anything else made in a factory; your products aren’t made from who-knows-what and designed to last an eon. Whether you’re making jams, cookies or pesto, your recipe likely has actual ingredients that anyone would recognize. Natural, right? Well, not so fast.
The word “natural” carries connotations of goodness and health. It holds itself in contrast to a food landscape of odd additives and unpronounceable preservatives. Go even deeper into the word’s associations, and to many people it harks back to an Eden of a pre-polluted Mother Earth. The word “natural” is a natural fit for any homemade-style food, which is why many small-scale food makers would want it associated with...
