9 Most Misleading Food Labels (PHOTOS)

We believe in helping consumers make good choices about what they are eating, for themselves and the environment. Unfortunately, many food companies use labels that have little or no meaning to obscure the truth about what's ACTUALLY in our food.

People are drawn to terms like "All Natural" and "Made With Whole Grains." "Natural" labeled food generated $22.3 billion in 2008, up 10% from 2007, and 54% of all cereals are now labeled "whole grain," including plenty processed, sugary ones.

The Center For Science in the Public Interest recently released a 158-page report, "Food Labeling Chaos", detailing the misinformation prevalent in the food industry. While the report has prompted the FDA to crack down on some of the specific products mentioned, many more go unnoticed and unregulated.

Since we're strong believers in taking the veil off processed foods, we've put together 9 of the most misleading food labels to help you safely navigate the grocery aisles. For further information, please see the CSPI's report.

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"All Natural"

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“All Natural” was the second most common claim made on new food products in 2008. Unfortunately, both the FDA and USDA have vague rules about this phrase, and have let manufacturers that incorrectly use this claim remain in the marketplace. Products like Hunt’s Tomato Sauce and “All Natural” Snapple Tea contain citric acid as an additive.  Hunt’s Tomato Sauce’s claim as being “All Natural” is even more misleading considering the product is made of reconstituted tomato paste, and not whole tomatoes crushed soon after being picked, as many would assume. Some products containing high-fructose corn syrup (made through complex chemical industrial processes) are even able to get away with the “All Natural” label. 
Certain "All Natural" deli meats have ingredients that are clearly additives one would not find if they cooked and sliced up their own natural turkey at home. The USDA also lets meat and poultry products claim to be “All Natural” when injected with beef or chicken broth, which not only increases the sodium levels to unnatural and less healthy levels, but the water inflates the weight of the product, increasing the price.   "All Natural" is not a label enforced strictly enough at this point to be trusted.

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“All Natural” was the second most common claim made on new food products in 2008. Unfortunately, both the FDA and USDA have vague rules about this phrase, and have let manufacturers that incorrectly use this claim remain in the marketplace. Products like Hunt’s Tomato Sauce and “All Natural” Snapple Tea contain citric acid as an additive.  Hunt’s Tomato Sauce’s claim as being “All Natural” is even more misleading considering the product is made of reconstituted tomato paste, and not whole tomatoes crushed soon after being picked, as many would assume. Some products containing high-fructose corn syrup (made through complex chemical industrial processes) are even able to get away with the “All Natural” label. 


Certain "All Natural" deli meats have ingredients that are clearly additives one would not find if they cooked and sliced up their own natural turkey at home. The USDA also lets meat and poultry products claim to be “All Natural” when injected with beef or chicken broth, which not only increases the sodium levels to unnatural and less healthy levels, but the water inflates the weight of the product, increasing the price.   "All Natural" is not a label enforced strictly enough at this point to be trusted.

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5 Most Misleading Food Labels

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[nikflorida]

11:03 AM on 05/02/2010

Today's edition of "I Have a Theory About That" (http://nikflorida.org) references this slide show and discusses misleading food labels, and particularly efforts by industry to resist possible FDA rules about salt content in processed foods. By all means, check it out!

It's amazing to me that not only are big business's interests at odds with those of the American people, but that they LIE so much (and enlist the support of groups like Rasmussen and Gallup to "justify" their misleading claims)...

http://nikflorida.org. Where we don't tell you WHAT to think, just to think.

[MrsNorwex]

03:06 PM on 04/29/2010

Isn't it just completely dumbfounding that these major corporations can get away with charging twice the price of their product because it says "All Natural" when it's not? Apple Sauce is a perfect example!

Suzanne
http://www.suzannesnorwex.com/
Radically reducing the use of chemicals in personal care and cleaning.

[nikflorida]

11:05 AM on 05/02/2010

Our favorite is "Healthy Choice" entrees, which just aren't.

http://nikflorida.org. Where we don't tell you WHAT to think, just to think.

[Muriel GT]

09:56 PM on 04/28/2010

A good way to eat healthy is to banish all products that have flour with bromates. All do, unless you can shop at store like WholeFoods. Bromates in flour have been banned for decades in place like the European Union. Bromates are a highly suspected human carcinogen, and in any case is a chemical compound added to flour. Only to make the flour more dependable in the way it handles itself while baking, cooking, etc.....

[nikflorida]

11:10 AM on 05/02/2010

The easiest, best way to eat healthy, I think, is to learn to cook, and to use your own raw foods instead of all the packaged, processed crap that they hawk at the grocery. I can make much tastier toaster-waffles than Eggo brand ones, for example, without all the chemicals and crap, from scratch once a month, cheaper and easier, using the 1970s-era Brady Bunch waffle maker (which doubles as a sandwich press if you just reverse the plates). Way cheaper, too!

I've often wondered why people use prepared baking mixes like Bisquik, because it's just as easy to start with flour and shortening and sugar. And you don't get forced to use HFCS, loads of salt, and chemicals you can't pronounce. It's MUCH more expensive, too, and doesn't actually save any time.

http://nikflorida.org. Where we don't tell you WHAT to think, just to think.

[pinkeyelemonade]

02:00 PM on 04/22/2010

It infuriates me that the only food I can really afford at this time fabricates a bunch of crap like this. I check labels all the time, and the choices are limited. I'll buy Nature Valley granola bars, which still have maybe one or two suspicious ingredients, but other than that, they're the closest processed granola to natural I have found. It's a very difficult search.

It's frustrating to know how hard it is to look for the right foods, when the companies who make the predominant brands especially help with the challenge.

By the way, gelatin is made out of the mashed up leftovers of slaughterhouse animals. Bones, skin, and refined into a gummy paste which is then flavored and placed into Starburst, pop tarts, gum drops, fruit snacks...

[nikflorida]

11:14 AM on 05/02/2010

It's really easy (and cheaper) to do your own food prep than to buy processed junk. Like, I make my own toaster waffles instead of buying Eggo brand ones, and I make my own pasta sauce once or twice a season, using a box of cheap, overripe locally-grown tomatoes. So it's simply not true that you have to spend a fortune to avoid killing yourself with horrid chemically-laden food. Fresh ingredients are not perfect, no. But buying produce at local farmer's markets is a whole lot better (and usually cheaper!) than buying it at WalMart.

http://nikflorida.org. Where we don't tell you WHAT to think, just to think.

[JScott]

01:52 PM on 04/22/2010

Made with whole grains, hmmm are all of em made with that and then the next thing the refine them.

Kinda meaningless.

[deluxebrand]

12:08 PM on 04/22/2010

Simply don't buy processed food!

[nikflorida]

11:16 AM on 05/02/2010

I totally agree! Cooking raw foods is way cheaper and healthier :)

http://nikflorida.org. Where we don't tell you WHAT to think, just to think.

[Kellogg Nutrition]

10:20 PM on 04/21/2010

As a registered dietician who works for the Kellogg Company, I would like to comment on some inaccuracies regarding references to Kellogg’s FiberPlus bars and Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal.

We were surprised at the characterization of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats. Frosted Mini-Wheats have five to six grams of fiber (20- 24 percent of the recommended daily value) and 40g to 49g of whole grain per serving, making it a nutritious option for consumers. To provide further context, a serving of Frosted Mini-Wheats contains less sugar than other common breakfast foods, including fruit yogurt or orange juice. The Cereal F.A.C.T.S study (www.cerealfacts.org) also ranks Frosted Mini-Wheats cereals as No. 1 on its Nutrition Profile Index.

We were also surprised to see Kellogg’s FiberPlus featured, as the source of fiber is completely transparent in our labels. Chicory Root Fiber is the first ingredient listed on the package. At Kellogg Company, we pride ourselves on our dedication in providing consumers with products and tools to help them live healthier lives – and we place particular emphasis on fiber. Regardless of its source or origin, fiber is very important to one’s diet, yet 9 out of 10 Americans do not enough of this nutrient. At Kellogg Company, we have developed many products to help Americans increase their daily fiber intake.

Please visit www.kelloggsnutrition.com for more information about our commitment to nutrition, food labels, and the benefits of fiber.


Tricia Siwakek, RD

Kellogg Company

[JScott]

01:51 PM on 04/22/2010

So you've advanced from wood sawdust to chicory root, wow big wooo, and your founder would be appalled.

[bobcollum]

10:17 PM on 04/23/2010

The reference to the Mini-Wheats had to do with sugar and the question of whether terms like "lightly sweetened" are justified when it "contains 20% sugar by weight (12g per serving)". I don't think Kellogg's is the lone target, it was just an example, and a valid one at that.

And while Chicory Root Fiber may be listed on the ingredients, it has a high concentration of Inulin, the first of the listed fiber additives mentioned, so I fail to understand your claims of inaccuracy. While I'm confident you are an honest well intentioned person, I have to question your seemingly over-zealous approach to describing your employers as a group more worried about our health than profits....c'mon now.

Lastly, who is "we"?

[GGP1]

12:24 PM on 04/21/2010

This is why I avoid processed foods. Just eat foods as close to their original form as possible and preferably organic/local/seasonal.

[henryle74]

05:51 AM on 04/21/2010

OMG - "bimbo" bread!! Hilarious!

[pinkeyelemonade]

01:55 PM on 04/22/2010

With a knockoff Pillsbury Doughboy?!

[henryle74]

05:47 AM on 04/21/2010

OMG - there's a bread named "bimbo"!! Did anybody notice? It must be made abroad. That hilarious!!

[zanzig]

06:05 AM on 04/21/2010

Actually, no. It seems to be made by bimbobakeriesusa.

[JScott]

01:50 PM on 04/22/2010

But it's mostly sold in hispanic markets.

[pollen2]

10:41 PM on 04/20/2010

I just recently started to pay more attention to the labels especially since I have children. I do a lot of shopping at Trader Joes, but just noticed that not all of their stuff is as healthy as I thought even though many of their stuff is organic for example one of their organic yogurts has 20 grams of sugar in it! That's one serving. I was shocked!

[cungar]

10:34 PM on 04/20/2010

Soon they'll have a label "Made with NO Cyanide"

[CheapTrick]

02:36 AM on 04/21/2010

95% Cyanide FREE!!

[rf dude]

10:24 PM on 04/20/2010

If it looks like it's already been eaten,

then it's likely to really be " All Natural"...

[Henk]

10:19 PM on 04/20/2010

Those silly Europeans and their labels. Labels, we don't need no stinking labels.

[spagma]

10:15 PM on 04/20/2010

A perfect example on why companies cannot be trusted to do what is right by themselves. Government regulation can be a good thing, and the further companies go to get around it, the further government needs to go to stop them.