“While the FDA does have hard-and-fast rules surrounding some terms, others are not defined. So if you see "natural" or "all-natural" on a product label, that tells you next to nothing about what's inside.”
Steve Taylor, co-director of the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program at the University of Nebraska discusses how there is no legal definition of words like ‘natural’ so companies can trick consumers into buying their products.
The FDA does police some terms like ‘Lite’, ‘Light’, and ‘Healthy’. However, This still doesn't make the product the healthiest choice because the rules are based on fat content. For example, some low-fat but heavily processed cookies can read ‘healthy’ yet a bag of nuts with a lot of healthy fats can’t.
Brian Wansink refers to these healthy-sounding terms as “health-halo’s” that surround a product and make it seem nutritious to a potential buyer, even if it is junk food. His research also states that people’s taste can be affected by the vocabulary as well as the amount that they eat.
No comments:
Post a Comment