Or so they say

Last week I bought a half-gallon bottle of white vinegar after a discussion with some friends about its magical and eco-friendly cleaning properties.

The label caught my eye. It declared—in bold letters—“Naturally Gluten-Free.”

Of course it’s gluten free—it’s vinegar. Even if it had been made from wheat, which it is not, the distillation process would remove the gluten. So while the claim on the label is not exactly a lie, it isn’t exactly the truth either.

Labels are essentially marketing tools, and many claims made on food and personal-hygiene product labels are not regulated, nor are all claims verifiable or scientific.

For instance, the most abused claim on labels nowadays is “natural.” There are no standards that regulate when a product can be labeled “natural,” so the word has become the biggest green-washing claim around.

Meat can be labeled “natural” if nothing artificial was added to the cut of meat itself, but so-called “natural” meat could be pumped with salt water, hormones, antibiotics and raised in concentrated animal feeding operations. Products containing partially hydrogenated oils can be labeled “natural.” The words “natural flavors” on a label are meaningless—all such added synthetic flavors are concocted in labs.

Other frequently used terms are equally ambiguous or empty of meaning. In order to be labeled “free range,” poultry must be allowed access to the outside. “Free-range” chickens do indeed have access to the outside, but being flock animals, they do not like to venture into the great outdoors. They remain in their coop day after day, the open door beckoning. Nary a chicken may leave the coop, but if that door stays open, the birds are labeled “free range.”

“Free range” means something different for poultry raised for meat and poultry raised for eggs. Egg producers can use the “free-range” or “cage-free” label with impunity, even when the eggs are factory farmed. Speaking of poultry, it is interesting to note that the word “fresh” may not actually mean fresh (as in not frozen.) USDA says that raw poultry can be labeled fresh if it is stored at 24 degrees F (but not below) for months after it is slaughtered.

On the other hand, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines the term “fresh” on fruits and vegetables as “a food that is raw, has never been frozen or heated, and contains no preservatives.”

Regulated by USDA, the labels “100% Organic,” “Certified Organic” and “Made with Organic Ingredients” are claims that have well-regulated and defined meanings. Used only on fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry, the label “100% Organic” prohibits the use of synthetic and petroleum-based pesticides and fertilizers, antibiotics, bioengineering, irradiation and sewage sludge. Organic animals must eat 100 percent organic feed that does not contain growth hormones, and the animals must have access to the outdoors.

“Organic” is the term used for multiple ingredient foods which are 95 to 100 percent organic. If a product is labeled “Made with organic ingredients,” 70 percent of the ingredients are organic. Finally, the label “Contains organic ingredients” means that the product contains less than 70 percent organic ingredients.

However, the label “Organic” on cosmetics, body-care products, over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements is not certifiable and not backed up by the same rigorous standards that apply to organic food products. Visit cosmeticsdatabase.com or organicconsumers.org/bodycare/index.cfm#BUY for a list of products that claim to be organic but actually contain toxic ingredients.

It may also interest you to know that words such as “hypo-allergenic,” “non-comedogenic,” “fragrance free” and “no animal testing,” to cite a few familiar claims, are not verifiable, and no organization or governmental body has established standards for such claims.

Visit greenerchoices.org for an exhaustive list of product labels and what they mean. Or don’t mean.

- Marcia Nehemiah