You can tell lot about a food by its labels. Some of what you see -- like the nutritional and ingredients information -- is required by law, and other information is allowed under strict guidelines. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are the agencies that govern food labels. While there's always plenty of controversy surrounding food labeling, knowing how to decipher what labels are provided can help you make better purchasing decisions.
Here's what labels must include: product name, manufacturer's name and address, amount of the item in the package (weight or count), list of ingredients (in descending order by weight) and the nutrition facts statement. (Some items -- like very small packages of food, foods prepared in the store, and foods made by small manufacturers -- don't always need to contain this information.)
As of January 2006, the FDA also requires that food manufacturers disclose common food allergens, using plain language. So rather than list "casein," for example, the manufacturer must use the word "milk." The purpose is to make it easy for consumers to identify the top eight allergens -- milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat -- which account for 90 percent of food allergies.
Whether you're counting calories, trying to boost your intake of particular vitamins, or limiting fat or sodium, the Nutrition Facts Label is indispensable. eep in mind:
Manufacturers have the option of providing addition information. But sometimes a little interpretation is required. For example what, exactly, is "low fat?"
Here are the per-serving requirements that must be met before using these claims:
The FDA is working on a standard definition for gluten-free; it should be available in August 2008.
To sport the USDA Organic Label, a product must have met national, consistent standards (for certified organic farms and handling operations) set by the Organic Foods Protection Act (OFPA) and the National Organic Program (NOP). The use of the seal is voluntary.
If an item is Fair Trade Certified™, it means that certain criteria have been met in its production. The criteria include fair labor conditions and wages for farmers, direct trade (elimination of the middle man when possible), support of democratic organizations and community development, and environmental sustainability. In the U.S., you're likely to see a Fair Trade Certified™ label on teas, coffees, chocolates, herbs and spices, cocoa, fresh fruit, sugar, rice, and vanilla. TransFair USA is the non-profit organization that provides certification in the U.S. It's a member of the international group Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO). In Europe and Asia, a group called National Initiatives (Nis) provides certification; it's a member of FLO, too.
A Fair Trade Federation (FTF) label doesn't certify products but shows that the company that produced the product is a member of the FTF. Members of the FTF have demonstrated that their business practices provide fair wages and employment to disadvantaged farmers and artisans. FTF products include food (like coffee and teas), as well as clothing and accessories (like jewelry and purses), body care items, and home and garden items.
Equal Exchange is the largest for-profit Fair Trade company in the U.S.; it supports democratically run farmer co-ops in Latin American, Asia, and Africa.
These indicate that a product has been grown in keeping with practices outlined by a sustainability program. The focus of these programs is on environmentally and socially sound practices. Rainforest Alliance and The Food Alliance are samples of Sustainable Agricultural labels.
There's no requirement that a manufacturer disclose on a product label that a product contains genetically modified ingredients. That's because the FDA sees no safety issue; they consider GMO products basically the same as traditional foods, and they don't require disclosure of information about how foods are grown. The FDA has provided guidelines for producers who wish to use a "No GMO" label as a way to help consumers identify products that were grown without the use of genetically modified organisms. Consumer groups continue to work towards mandatory labeling of GMO products.
Because the FDA sees no significant difference between the milk from cows that have and have not been treated with recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST, a synthetic hormone that's given to cows to increase milk production), they do not require that dairy items include the hormone on their labels. Producers who want to specify that their cows are not treated with the hormone may include a label that specifies "from cows not treated with "rbST." Because the hormone bovine somatotropin (bST) occurs naturally in cows, dairy labels may not read simply "no bST" or "hormone free." Consumer groups advocate the labeling of rbST dairy products.
The FDA has not recognized any food safety concerns related to cloned products, and so it does not require producers to label products that have been derived from cloned animals. Producers can voluntarily label a product as "not produced from a cloned animal." Choosing organic products may be another way to avoid the purchase of products from cloned animals. The organic community wants to ensure that clones -- and the progeny of clones (who are not technically considered clones) -- not be included in organics. These details (including how a registry of lineage would work) are being ironed out. And many consumer groups continue to advocate the labeling of products from cloned animals.
Wondering what happened to this one? Here's the holdup: The 2002 Farm Bill, which would require country-of-origin labeling for beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable agricultural commodities, and peanuts, was signed by President Bush. Its implementation is the responsibility of the USDA. But in January 2004, Bush delayed the implementation of the requirement (except for fish and shellfish) until September 2006. In November 2005, he delayed implementation until September 30, 2008. In the meantime, producers can voluntarily provide country-of-origin information.
If foods -- like fruits, vegetables, seeds, spices, poultry, meat, and spices -- have been treated with radiation to kill bacteria, they must carry the radura symbol (an international symbol for irradiation) that states "treated with irradiation." Packaged items with very small amounts of an ingredient that's been irradiated (like a spice) need not contain the label.
