What is Natural?

By David Feder, RD, Technical Editor

Published November 2009 in Food Processing magazine; page 30

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"We believe that some food products in U. S. supermarkets mistakenly claim all-natural on the front or principal display panel even though vegetable or fruit juice coloring is present," says Campbell Barnum, vice president of branding and market development for D.D. Williamson Global Support Center in Louisville, KY.  "A compliant alternative could be to instead declare, 'Made with naturally derived ingredients', assuming the other ingredients qualify."

D.D. Williamson, maker of a full spectrum of natural colorants for 140 years, also is the exclusive distributor for ColorMaker, supplier of natural color blends derived from "agricultural / biological materials using conventional methods."

The company points to a nearly 50 year old conflict that sprang from the ability to commercially produce acetone-derived "synthetically made but chemically identical B-carotene" in 1960. While chemically it was indistinguishable from natural carotene, it was decided a new term - "color additives exempt from certification" - could be applied to both "natural color" and "nature identical" colors.  The result was a dissolution of the legal term "natural color." At least for a few decades.  In other words, more confusion.