A contemporary fad that has caught the public fancy is to use the word “natural” for most provisions at a grocery store. You may think that the word “natural” on the label is the best indicator of quality and wholesomeness. 

But is that really true? 

“Natural foods” and “all-natural foods” are widely used terms in food labelling and marketing with a variety of definitions, most of which are vague, undefined, and ambiguous. 

The term is often assumed to imply foods that are minimally processed, all of whose ingredients are natural products. However, the lack of standards in food labelling reduces the labels to nothing. 

Here are some easy ways to determine what's natural and what's not:

  1. All the listed ingredients of the products are easily recognizable.

  2. The ingredients have no artificial flavourings or sweeteners. 

  3. The products should have only natural preservatives. 

  4. The products can be prepared in your kitchen without any special processes. 

  5. The foods are “organic” only when grown without herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers. 

  6. No genetically-modified organisms are present in the products. 

So, the next time you are shopping, be sure to look at the food labels carefully and pick out the really natural ones from the rest. 

 

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