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How To Read Holiday Food Labels – Part Two

November 23, 2008 in Food & Drink by Jennifer | 1 comment

In the post, How To Read Holiday Food Labels we started looking at food labels so that you can make smart food shopping choices this holiday season. Continuing on with our look at labels…

Fair Trade: Fair trade is a little confusing. A good place to start is by reading: What is the difference between Fair Trade and Fairtrade? You may be seeing a Fair Trade label of sorts (see above) more during the holidays, on treats, coffee, cocoa, and more. The Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, FLO-CERT GMBH, and TransFair are all key players in fairly traded goods (behind the scenes there’s a lot more going on – to get the full scoop, you’ll need to check out F&Qs at the above websites). To be labeled Fair Trade, a company must meet quite a few objectives – issues like fair wages, working conditions, and worker’s rights are taken seriously by Fair Trade labels.

One problem with a food item labeled as Fair Trade can be that some companies use it as a greenwashing technique. For example, a company who is (or was) an eco baddie, may enact fair trade conditions within their company, but that doesn’t make other poor eco choices ok, and it also doesn’t cover up what a company has done in the past that may be questionable. If your goal is a green company, a fair trade mark may mean little.

Hormone Free; rBGH Free, or rBST Free: The war on this label raged again this summer, and it’s still unclear where rights regarding this label stand. Where you’ll see this label is on dairy products, meat, poultry, and eggs.The USDA defined the use of the term Hormone Free, but there’s no real meaning behind the label, and at this time the label standards aren’t even available to consumers – if you’re looking for products that support animal rights, hormone free means absolutely nothing. Animals can be treated horribly, and their milk (or whatever) labeled hormone free.

You can stay current with what’s up with hormone free labels by clicking here, but a better way to make sure you avoid hormones is to buy items labeled with the USDA Organic label.

More food labels to come – stay tuned.

How To Read Holiday Food Labels

November 23, 2008 in Food & Drink by Jennifer | 3 comments

With the holidays here, you’re probally trying to purchase healthy, eco-friendly foods for your holiday table. Looking at healthy food labels can be somewhat confusing though – here’s a breakdown…

Certified Organic: This is about the best label you can find. This label means a food item is at least 95% organic, although they may be more; up to 100% organic. This Certified Organic label is regulated by the USDA and all foods wearing this label must be grown without chemicals, synthetic fertilizers, hormones, and other genetically altered baddies. Also, this label means the food can’t contain artificial colors or flavors, although some added enzymes, waxes, and acids are allowed. NOTE: sometimes the above label is black, it’s still ok. So long as it says USDA Organic, you’re good.

Natural: This is an iffy label and can look like anything. If you see “Natural” on a food item, it just doesn’t mean much. There are no legal standards for the term natural. The good news is that if a company claims natural, and they’re not, there are watchdog policies in place (not extensive) that call them on it, and a federal fine may be issued. Plenty of chemically enhanced foods wear some sort of natural label, so if you see this, a good idea is to read the ingredient list, see what’s actually in the product, and take it from there.

Made With Organic Ingredients: The USDA does certify this label, but it’s not as good as the organic label you see at the top of this post. Regulations state that food labeled “made with organic ingredients” only have to be 70% organic. Often, weird stuff like genetically modified grains and plants are allowed in products labeled like this.

Coming up, we’ll look at other food labels for the holiday, such as Fair Trade, GMO, and more. Stay tuned.