I’m kind of obsessed with and excited about the FDA’s tackling the big gooey problems of defining “natural food.” While we’ve all grown up knowing and using this term, there’s no real definition.
Why defining natural food is so complicated
- If an olive is cured, is the olive still natural?
- If the cured olive becomes an oil, is that natural?
- If olive oil becomes a cream, is that natural?
Questions of production techniques, processing, traceability and treatment are just a few of the kinds of questions the FDA is asking the public to comment on.
Imagine the complexity in not only figuring out the guidelines but then putting systems in place to ensure plant and meat products are natural in their finished state.
Join the conversation on defining natural food
I’m organizing a few online, collaborative chats with people in the food industry, to walk through the FDA’s questions together.
Sign up here. And if you have other thoughts on how to collaborate (especially if you’re in the SF Bay Area) I’d love to chat!
One day foods processed with all natural ingredients may not be considered natural depending on how all of the ingredients originated and were processed.
La Tourangelle, winners for roasted pistachio and walnut oils
