Natural Doesn’t Mean a Whole Lot Anymore: We’ve all seen product packaging boasting that the product is “Natural,” “All-Natural” or “100% Natural.” So what does this mean? Honestly, not much! Natural simply means that the product has no artificial flavors, no artificial colors and no artificial preservatives – and that’s it! Natural does NOT mean organic! In fact, natural doesn’t even necessarily imply that it’s healthy for you.

You’ve likely seen potato chip packaging stating on the front that the chips contained therein are “All-Natural.” Sounds extraordinarily healthy, right? It may sound healthy, but, unfortunately, that’s probably not the case. “Natural” is considered by many to be one of the least useful and most confusing terms used on product packaging. It’s often simply a ploy by savvy marketers to confuse consumers into buying their products.

In addition to the requirement that the product has no artificial flavors, no artificial colors and no artificial preservatives, organic also means that no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides were used – and the product contains no genetically engineered ingredients. Therefore, it is imperative to look for the official USDA Organic Logo – of either the black-and-white variety or the green-and-white-and-brown variety. The USDA logo can only be applied to those items where at least 95% of the ingredients are organic. With this logo you can rest assured that the product has no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, no artificial preservatives, no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides were used – and the product contains no GMO’s.