labeling

Ben & Jerry's Removes "All Natural" Claims From Labeling
News

Ben & Jerry's Removes "All Natural" Claims

In an interesting move, progressive ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's, long known for its civic-oriented campaigns and eco-friendly packaging, announced yesterday that it would phase out claims of "All Natural" on frozen desserts that contain processed or artificial ingredients.
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In an interesting move, progressive ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's, long known for its civic-oriented campaigns and eco-friendly packaging, announced yesterday that it would phase out claims of "All Natural" on frozen desserts that contain processed or artificial ingredients. The brouhaha began when public health advocacy Center for Science in the Public Interest sent a letter to Ben & Jerry's parent company, Unilever, alleging nearly 50 products, including ice cream flavors Cherry Garcia and Creme Brulee, were mislabeled, as they contained ingredients such as alkalized cocoa, maltodextrin, corn syrup, and artificial vanilla.Although the Vermont-based ice creamery wasn't violating any label laws, it has nonetheless decided to phase out the term "all natural" in many of its products. "We are confident that Ben & Jerry's products are 'All Natural' as reasonable consumers would understand that term. However we don't want there to be any questions," CEO Jostein Solheim responded in a letter to the health watchdog group. I think this is a respectable move on the part of Ben & Jerry's and hope other companies have the good sense to follow suit, as to not mislead consumers. What do you think of the announcement?

Source: Flickr User _rockinfree

Produce and Meat's COOL Move
News

Produce and Meat's COOL Move

America is moving one more step closer to awareness of where its food comes from.
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America is moving one more step closer to awareness of where its food comes from.

The US Department of Agriculture has mandated that all produce as well as meat, fish, and poultry sold in US retail stores will be required to have country of origin labels (COOL) beginning next Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Aside from knowing more about your food's origins, the COOL new system (pun intended) could be helpful in situations such as this year's widespread salmonella outbreak. Since the outbreak was traced to Mexico, if you purchased jalapeno or serrano peppers from, say, California, you could be assured that your produce wasn't from the contaminated source.

For years, COOL has been applied to canned or boxed foods packaged overseas, but this will be the first time the rule is required for fresh foods. There are exceptions, however: meat and fish sold in small butcheries or fish markets; salad bars or packaged mixed fruit and vegetable salads; bacon, ham, and smoked salmon; frozen vegetables; domestically canned vegetables; cooked shrimp; and roasted peanuts. What do you think of this move? Are you glad to learn more about where your food comes from?

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How Long Has That Been In Your Fridge?
Tips

How Long Has That Been In Your Fridge?

You've probably been here before: you're cleaning out the fridge and you get to that open jar of mayonnaise.
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You've probably been here before: you're cleaning out the fridge and you get to that open jar of mayonnaise. You wonder how long it's been there, and when you opened it. Then you realize that even if you could remember when you opened it, you wouldn't know if it was still any good. The labels, if they're even there, are often confusing. So what do you do? Well luckily I've got the tip and the answer to help you out. To find out read more