FDA struggles to define what ‘natural,’ ‘healthy’ mean in food labeling

The FDA. . . is changing its definition of what “healthy” actually means—and are still trying to figure out a definition for “natural foods.”

The FDA recently ended a public comment period. . .  on what their definition of “natural foods” should be. But different industry players have very different definitions of what natural and healthy actually mean; many consumers aren’t too sure either. . .

In an email to Fast Company, press officer Lauren Kotwicki said that the FDA is currently reviewing hundreds of comments and “cannot speculate on how long this will take to review or what will happen next.”

One thing is for sure—the agency’s definition of those two terms will have an enormous financial impact, both on the food industry and on consumers’ grocery budgets.

. . . .

The FDA’s decision . . . will impact how individual vendors label their foods, and what terms can be used in advertising. . . .it impacts the purchases of a large audience of customers who view the purchasing of organic foods as a marker of cultural identity.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: The Epic Fight Over How To Label “Natural” Foods

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}

Related Articles

Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Does glyphosate—the world's most heavily-used herbicide—pose serious harm to humans? Is it carcinogenic? Those issues are of both legal and ...

Most Popular

Screenshot-2026-04-12-135256
Bixonimania: The fake disease scam that AI swallowed whole
Screenshot-2026-05-01-at-1.29.41-PM
Viewpoint: What happens when whole grains meet modern food manufacturing? Labels don’t tell the whole story.

Sorry. No data so far.

glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.