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Have you been a little confused at the grocery store lately when it comes to all the new labels? There's organic, free-range, cage-free, grain-fed, whole-grain, and more. It gets complicated for all of us. So to help you navigate the world of health food terms and catch phrases, here are some suggestions for demystifying those labels on your next shopping trip.
Organic
First of all, I'm a huge fan of organic food. Why? Well, for one thing a recent European study found that organic fruit and vegetables contain up to 40 percent more antioxidants than conventional equivalents. Another study, by the Rodale Institute, found that if all-organic farming methods were practiced on the planet's food-growing land, it would be the equivalent of taking 1.5 billion cars off the road. But what does it mean to be organic?
According to Webster's Dictionary, organic refers to any "food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides."
In the US, anyone who wants to label their food organic must be certified and abide by a set of USDA guidelines. Those guidelines dictate how food should be produced and handled before it ends up on your plate.
Here's what the labels mean:
"100% Organic" means that all ingredients (with the exception of water and salt) inside the product must be organic. These food products are permitted to use the brown and green USDA Organic seal.
"Organic" means it must contain at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients. It is permitted to use the USDA seal.
"Made With Organic" means it must be made from at least 70 percent organic ingredients. It is not permitted to use the USDA seal.
If a product contains less than 70 percent organic ingredients, the ingredient label can still list those items that are organic, but it will not get the USDA seal.
Eggs
I would argue that eggs are a perfect food. They're packed with protein, supply essential amino acids, contain lots of vitamins and even come in their own handy carrying case--the shell. But like the term organic, egg labels are confusing. Below are a few definitions to help you sort out the good eggs from the bad eggs:
"Cage Free" means the chickens that produced the eggs are free to roam about their housing unit, usually a barn, and lay eggs.
"Free Range" means that hens have access (though sometime very limited access) to the outdoors to forage and roam around. Whether the chickens actually go outdoors is another matter--that's up to them.
"Vegetarian-Fed" means the hens have been fed an all-vegetarian diet with no animal byproducts.
"Omega-3 Enriched" means they contain higher amounts of Omega-3s because the chickens that produced them enjoyed the highlife with diets rich in seaweed, fish oil and/or fish byproducts, or flax seed oil. (Those are some sophisticated chickens.)
Whole Grains
When shopping for whole-grain products at the grocery store, you should proceed with caution. Items, such as bread, that sound like they contain whole grains may not. Watch out for labels such as "multigrain," "health nut," or "made with whole grains." Unless the package or ingredient list says "100% whole wheat" or "100% whole grain," you could be getting fooled into buying enriched bread.
Want to learn more about whole grains and why they are an important part of a healthy diet? Read my article "The Whole Truth About Whole Grains".
Now, go forth and read labels. You'll get the hang of it in no time, and your body (and the local chickens) will thank you.
About the Author
After 12 years in marketing, Tselani Richmond shed her corporate responsibilities and headed to Paris, where she studied cuisine and pastry at Le Cordon Bleu, finishing first in both disciplines. She turned her sights on Parisian kitchens, working at Guy Savoy, a three-star Michelin restaurant, and at the famous pastry shop Pierre Herme. Tselani lives in Portland, Ore., and works as a personal chef, cooking instructor and food writer.
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