I get a lot of trade publications in my business.
As a marketer of certified organic food, I get free trade rags mailed to me all the time. Some are so obscure they are really just great fire starters for the wood stove. We live in the permafrost tundra of Upstate New York, and we literally burned fires in our wood stove at least once a month in 2009. Yes, in June, July, and August we burned fires to warm up our house. Crazy, but true.
Anyway, we need a lot of crappy magazines coming in the mailbox just to keep up with our kindling needs.
I picked up one yesterday with the scary title of “Food Engineering” (? Yikes!). I also get Packaging World, Food Processing Digest, and maybe a half dozen other food/manufacturing/packaging related, full color slick looking mags. They all have their own trade associations, their own Expos, etc. etc. etc.
Anyway, in an article titled “What is Natural?”, I read this:
“MSG (monosodium glutamate) is a looming target for alternatives due to negative effects perceived by consumers. While the science behind those criticisms and suspicions has proven inconclusive, except where some studies with children are concerned, the flavor enhancer has slowly gathered enough of a negative image that many processors consider it worth replacing.”
Also, this gem:
“The thing about MSG is that it can be described as a natural flavor, derived from papaya. Moreover, consumers are starting to catch on that ingredients such as autolyzed yeast extract, torula yeast and hydrolyzed protein can be used as synonyms for MSG. Processors should watch for a possible rising tide of public backlash against these ingredients.”
Wow. Holy crap.
Ok, so at this point I took my copy of Michael Pollan’s “Food Rules” and beat myself in the head with it.
Certified organic food means something. Farmers are inspected at least annually, and they are required to abide by the USDA organic standards, a 900+ page document of rules that cover all things imaginable being raised on a farm.
“Natural” food has been around for a really long time, and has absolutely no meaning. It has no oversight. I can call my bag of Frito’s natural, because they naturally are, well, you know…made from some kernel of what was once a natural thing. There, way down inside the Frito, past the MSG and the mono poly glyco goodness is a fleck of corn. Real corn. And it was grown naturally, using BT Round Up Ready GMO based corn seed, in some field in Nebraska a couple of years ago. It was sprayed heavy with chemicals, processed and dumped in a train rail car bin, where it was then sealed with hydrogen to retain “freshness”.
Let’s hope we continue to educate consumers to beware of these “All Natural” claims….there is no such thing. The only thing natural, truly, is a certified organic food item. At least you can buy the food knowing that somewhere, a farmer was quizzed about his practices. He wasn’t allowed to use chemicals. He was asked to open his farm up for inspection and review. He treats the land and his animals with kindness. He is a steward.
I think I’ll call some of my farmer friends tonight and see if we can make some certified organic Frito’s together….my guess is probably not.
