If you’ve ever grabbed a box of cereal, a can of soda or some other bag of processed food on a grocery trip, then chances are you’ve come across the “natural flavors” label.
But despite the word “natural,” products sporting this label are probably the last things you’ll want in your cart, let alone in your fridge and cupboards, once you get a good look at what’s really behind that label.
As it turns out, plenty of unambiguously unhealthy products advertise the seemingly healthy label to fool some unsuspecting health-conscious consumers into thinking they’re buying healthy, “natural” foods.
Sadly, the label could mean pretty much anything. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would tell you it is any heated, roasted or fermented product with plant- or animal-derived flavoring constituents. If that sounded like it didn’t really tell you anything, it’s because it didn’t. Read more…
