FDA Petitioned to Define ‘Natural’
The Sugar Association, Washington D.C., has filed a formal petition requesting that FDA “undertake rulemaking to establish specific rules and regulations governing the definition of ‘natural’ before a ‘natural’ claim can be labeled on foods and beverages regulated by the FDA.” The petition highlights the importance of two criteria for making a “natural” claim on foods and beverages—1) a food that does not contain anything artificial or synthetic, and 2) a food or food ingredient is not more than minimally processed. It also requests that FDA support consistency across government agencies citing the USDA definition of “natural” for meat and poultry.