Is Your Food Label Truthful?
A food label or food packaging is the first point of contact for you whenever you go to buy food. As a result, your decision to pick up a food depends on the label or packet, more often than not. So, it is important that the information given on it is authentic and truthful. But how do you manage that? You can’t depend upon the companies for telling you the truth, so here is how you can pick up the right food for you, which is also truthful.
Growth Hormones or Not
When the US Department of Agriculture asks producers to label their products as being ‘hormone free’, it means no hormones should be fed to the chicken, turkey, pork, or milk and beef products that you purchase. This is because the “federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones” and the same has to be mentioned on the product label. To circumvent this issue, the producers use antibiotics, which serve the same purpose as hormones but allow the producers to use ‘hormone-free’ on the label as well. To keep yourself safe, buy meat and dairy with only certified label that says no growth hormones and antibiotics are used. Or buy from small farmers, who are less likely to use these substances to raise their animals.
Natural or Not
Everybody loves farm fresh food, which comes straight from the land. However, since there is no single, official definition of ‘natural’ food products, except in case of meat, the only consolation is the USDA definition that natural is any product that contains “no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed (a process which does not fundamentally alter the raw product).” However, the Food and Drug Administration has no such definition of the term for fruits, vegetables, and processed foods, which it regulates. Again, buying organic food is your best bet and include more fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, etc in your diet to weed out artificial ingredients.
Grass-fed or Not
Being a grass-fed animal means that the animal has eaten 100% grass and has had a continuous access to a pasture in its life. But, unfortunately, the USDA does not conduct any farm inspections to check whether the producer, using this terminology on its products, has actually ensured that the meat being packed has come only from grass-fed animals. To stay safe, you can check for the ‘U.S. Grass-fed’ sign along with a “USDA Process Verified”, which will ensure that the meat has come from grass-fed animals only. USDA verification means actual farm visits, so, you are in the safe.
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