April 28, 2009

Do NOT Trust Food Labels!

I see tons of food labels declaring their product to be "hormone free," "all natural," and "organic." Sounds great, right? Well, the short answer is....WRONG!!!
Did you know that the FDA has NO regulations regarding the use of the words "all natural" and "natural?" Because there are no rules in place for using these words & phrases, this means that anyone can put them on their food products, no matter what. So, when you see the "natural" label adorning your meat, vegetables, cereals, or anything else, be cautioned! It is NOT necessarily true! The producers of that product slapped that wonderful-sounding label on that food product, knowing that you would be more inclined to buy it! So be cautious and educate yourself!
Another thing: did you know that meat & produce producers can put the "organic" label on their products, as long as they have not used antibiotics, hormones, or steroids only within the past YEAR? This means that they could have been pumping pretty much whatever they wanted into your food up until a year ago, and they can still put the "organic" label on it.
Interesting, huh? Do you feel deceived? Are you angry yet?
For your information, I have gotten most of these thoughts out of various books, including "Skinny Bitches," by Rory Freedman & Kim Barnouin
and "Eat This, Not That" by David Zinczenko.
Author's personal note: be prepared for tons of crude & hateful language in the Skinny Bitches book. I appreciated their thoughts and insights, but the language was awful. Be forewarned!

3 comments:

  1. Hi there,
    I found your blog from eHow groups and totally agree on the food stuff! JoAnne :)

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  2. I agree labels can be totally deceiving. It's worth it to take the extra time to "read between the lines"

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  3. Thank you both for your wonderful comments. Yes, it can be tricky nowadays to decipher food labels and ensure that you & your family are eating the healthiest foods possible. I hope this information helps shed some light on the struggle! Thanks for looking at my blog and for commenting!

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