Groups Ask FDA to Protect Consumers from Misleading Labels on “Natural” Foods

Today, the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Biological Diversity jointly submitted comments (see PDF) to the FDA regarding the use of the term “natural” in labeling human food products, recommending that the term be defined in a way that aligns with what consumers reasonably believe “natural” to mean when it comes to the care and raising of farm animals.

The comments argue that, to prevent a likelihood of consumer confusion, the FDA needs to prohibit the use of “natural” on meat and poultry product labels when those products come from animals raised in ways that are anything but natural: being fed subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics or other veterinary drugs, injected with growth hormones, or confined without outdoor access in spaces that prevent the animals from performing natural behaviors.

The comments also point out that many of the meat and poultry products labeled as “natural” actually come from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, also known as factory farms, which have devastating impacts on the local environment from air and water pollution. Factory farms are also leading contributors to climate change. In short, nothing about many of the meat and poultry products with attractive labels and brand names using the term “natural” is natural at all.

Preventing products that come from animals raised in these conditions from being sold with a “natural” label will not only protect consumers from deception, but will also likely result in important public benefits. Companies wanting to capitalize on consumer demand for “natural” products will be discouraged from overusing antibiotics, which in turn will slow the growth of antibiotic resistant pathogens. Companies will also have to raise animals in conditions that really are more natural – such as allowing them meaningful access to the outdoors. By the same token, if meat and poultry producers wanting to use a “natural” label are required to back up that claim, it will level the playing field for small, family farms that are truly trying to do the right thing.

“With a growing number of conscious consumers, it’s extremely important that labeling terms be clearly defined,” says Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells. “A ‘natural’ label sells products, and it is the FDA’s duty to protect consumers from this kind of misleading food label.”

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About The Animal Legal Defense Fund

The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) was founded in 1979 to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. To accomplish this mission, ALDF files high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm; provides free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are punished for their crimes; supports tough animal protection legislation and fights harmful legislation; and provides resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law. For more information, please visit aldf.org

About The Center for Biological Diversity

The Center for Biological Diversity (Center) is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection of native species and their habitats through science, policy, and environmental law. The Center has more than one million members and online activists dedicated to the protection and restoration of endangered species and wild places. The Center has worked for twenty-six years to protect imperiled plants and wildlife, open space, air and water quality, and overall quality of life. The Center is committed to protecting the environmental and public health, including by engaging in matters about the appropriate and non-deceptive use of human food labels. For more information, please visit biologicaldiversity.org.

http://aldf.org/press-room/press-releases/the-animal-legal-defense-fund-and-center-for-biological-diversity-ask-fda-to-protect-consumers-from-misleading-labels-on-natural-foods/