The Food Science Blog

Kevin Purdy over at Lifehacker.com wrote a nice comprehensive guide to defining what certain food labels really mean on packages in the supermarket.  Head over there and take a look at what Kevin broke down, between "organic", "natural" and other labels.

A nice snippet from the Lifehacker article about organic food...

This is the biggie among food labels, and one of the most
controversial. It's a word that sounds black and white—either it grew
up naturally and was brought to you without chemicals, hormones,
pesticides, or radiation, or it didn't, you'd think. But under federal
law, any product with "organic" anywhere on its packaging or display
materials must contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients.

Head over to Lifehacker.com via the link below and take a look at everything broken down into simple and easy-to-read words that are a lot less cryptic than what the food companies want you to think.

The Common Sense Guide to "Organic" and Other Food Labels

Federal health officials announced this Thursday that processed foods that contained hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) have been recalled due to a salmonella outbreak.  This additive is found in many processed foods such as soups, hot dogs, gravy, chilis and others.  The list of recalled foods can be found here. This recall affects all bulk HVP produced at the problem facility since September 17.  Many criticize the Food and Drug Administration due to its lack of widespread oversight of processing methods and foods, which is only compounded by the inability to make this HVP recall standard.  Read the article on CNN for a more in-depth view of what the FDA and CDC are doing about this recall.

FDA recalls some foods with flavor enhancer HVP - CNN.com

In this modern age, with the countless amount of food processing, we are rushed into having certain thoughts about labels on food.  "Made With Whole Grains", "0g Trans Fat" and other labels are placed to mislead consumers into having a more healthy perception of the food while in reality it may or may not be healthy at all.

From the article:

"Consumers need honest labeling so they can spend their food dollars 
wisely and avoid diet-related disease," said CSPI senior staff attorney 
Ilene Ringel Heller, co-author of the report. "Companies should market 
their foods without resorting to the deceit and dishonesty that's so 
common today. And, if they don't, the FDA should make them."

Read on to discover exactly what these labels could mean for your food and what you can do to change your perceptions of these labelings.

Reading Food Labels - Nutritional Lies - Food Label Facts and Lies - thedailygreen.com