Day 237 of 365 - Plant Based, Natural, Organic
This year, Canada released a new Food Guide. In the dietary guidelines, the importance of cooking and food preparation using nutritious foods is promoted. One of the significant changes in the guide is, that protein choices should come more often from legumes, nuts, seeds and soy in addition to the traditional categories of fish, poultry, meat, eggs and dairy. The protein coming from legumes, nuts, seeds and soy is called plant-based protein.
Because of the new emphasis on plant-based protein, the food industry is taking advantage of the recommendation by labeling many processed food products as plant-based.
Food labels are perceived as highly credible by most consumers. In recent years, labels of natural and organic have been used to target the health conscious shopper. Now, Plant-Based is being added to marketing to this sector.
Health Canada acknowledges that Canadians spend about 30% of their food budget on processed foods, for reasons of convenience in the modern lifestyle. The food producers and marketers are well aware of this too.
What do the food labels mean? Is plant-based, natural and organic labeling on food products always a healthy choice?
In North America, there are regulations for food labeling. After searching for awhile, I did not see specific guidelines in the regulations for the term plant-based, so I have to assume that it means the product contains protein from legumes, nuts, seeds or soy.
Ingredients have to be listed in order of weight. So again, I'd assume that to be labeled plant-based, the product would have to contain more of those ingredients by weight. It seems like the plant-based label might be a substitute for what used to be labeled as vegetarian, because the label definition for vegetarian food is one made from only plant-based ingredients.
The guidelines for the label Natural are a bit vague. Foods represented as natural are expected not to contain added vitamins, minerals, artificial flavoring agents or food additives. They are also not to have had their constituents significantly altered in processing. Since some food additives are derived from natural sources, they may still be called natural ingredients. Definitions of natural are to be described on the package with terms such as 'no added coloring', 'no artificial ingredients' or 'minimally processed'.
Since a lot of the processed foods now labeled plant-based do contain added flavorings or other ingredients, and may be highly processed, this new label seems to be a loophole for avoiding the 'natural' regulations, while still appearing healthy.
Organic, by general definition, is foods not treated with synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, animals not given hormones or drugs to promote rapid growth, and no use of GMO organisms. Products labeled as organic must have 95% or more organic content. If a product contains 70 - 95% organic ingredients, that percentage may be declared on the label but it cannot be declared organic. Products with less than 70% organic ingredients may not use these labels.
Is organic always healthy? Well, again when it comes to manufactured and processed foods, not necessarily. For example, whether the source is organic or not, high sugar content is not healthy.
Relative to other processed food options, choosing plant-based, natural or organic labeled items would be at least somewhat healthier. However, the bottom line is that consumers who are purchasing processed foods need to become vigilant label readers as well as knowing healthy versus unhealthy ingredients. Don't assume label claims mean healthy.
The ideal scenario would be to prepare your own food from natural ingredients, like making your own veggie burgers or non-dairy cheesecake. Since this is not realistic for a large percentage of the population, we need to become more savvy about just what it is that we are buying.
Because of the new emphasis on plant-based protein, the food industry is taking advantage of the recommendation by labeling many processed food products as plant-based.
Food labels are perceived as highly credible by most consumers. In recent years, labels of natural and organic have been used to target the health conscious shopper. Now, Plant-Based is being added to marketing to this sector.
Health Canada acknowledges that Canadians spend about 30% of their food budget on processed foods, for reasons of convenience in the modern lifestyle. The food producers and marketers are well aware of this too.
What do the food labels mean? Is plant-based, natural and organic labeling on food products always a healthy choice?
In North America, there are regulations for food labeling. After searching for awhile, I did not see specific guidelines in the regulations for the term plant-based, so I have to assume that it means the product contains protein from legumes, nuts, seeds or soy.
Ingredients have to be listed in order of weight. So again, I'd assume that to be labeled plant-based, the product would have to contain more of those ingredients by weight. It seems like the plant-based label might be a substitute for what used to be labeled as vegetarian, because the label definition for vegetarian food is one made from only plant-based ingredients.
The guidelines for the label Natural are a bit vague. Foods represented as natural are expected not to contain added vitamins, minerals, artificial flavoring agents or food additives. They are also not to have had their constituents significantly altered in processing. Since some food additives are derived from natural sources, they may still be called natural ingredients. Definitions of natural are to be described on the package with terms such as 'no added coloring', 'no artificial ingredients' or 'minimally processed'.
Since a lot of the processed foods now labeled plant-based do contain added flavorings or other ingredients, and may be highly processed, this new label seems to be a loophole for avoiding the 'natural' regulations, while still appearing healthy.
Organic, by general definition, is foods not treated with synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, animals not given hormones or drugs to promote rapid growth, and no use of GMO organisms. Products labeled as organic must have 95% or more organic content. If a product contains 70 - 95% organic ingredients, that percentage may be declared on the label but it cannot be declared organic. Products with less than 70% organic ingredients may not use these labels.
Is organic always healthy? Well, again when it comes to manufactured and processed foods, not necessarily. For example, whether the source is organic or not, high sugar content is not healthy.
Relative to other processed food options, choosing plant-based, natural or organic labeled items would be at least somewhat healthier. However, the bottom line is that consumers who are purchasing processed foods need to become vigilant label readers as well as knowing healthy versus unhealthy ingredients. Don't assume label claims mean healthy.
The ideal scenario would be to prepare your own food from natural ingredients, like making your own veggie burgers or non-dairy cheesecake. Since this is not realistic for a large percentage of the population, we need to become more savvy about just what it is that we are buying.
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