Fda's Definition Of The Word Natural

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FDA’s definition of the term “natural” on food products has been uncertain for decades. This term is not clear for the consumers to comprehend in what exactly the “natural” really means. Many citizens have submitted a claim to get rid of the word “natural” or to redefine it in a way for consumers to grasp every detail of “natural” food product is. This dispute has caused a market failure that is responsible for the development of this rule. The type of market failure in this case is information failure. The FDA and the food manufacturing industries doesn’t make it clear on the term “natural” for consumers to make a rational consumption decision. While the Food industries have a clear idea of what the definition of “natural” really means, the …show more content…

Consumers don’t know the correct definition so they choose based on the image from the term “natural.” In December 2015 the Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,005 adults to get their take on natural food labeling(APA). The results showed the 62% of shoppers said they usually buy foods labeled “natural” (APA). The significant results through this survey portrays how less of a knowledge the overall consumer have over the term “natural.” Many believe that just because it contains the term “natural” means that the product hasn’t been touched by humans in giving hormones or injecting …show more content…

The food manufacturing companies have incentives to reveal negative information because if these companies advertise that “natural” comes from genetically modified food, then there will be a decrease in demand for “natural” food products. By all means is the food manufacturing companies not to reveal negative information for their own food. In other words, less of a negative is positive for these companies. If government intervenes with regulation that diminishes the term “natural” then the food manufacturing company will have less incentive to advertise the product that decreases the competition between food companies. The term “natural” is what drove the food industry in increasing demand for the consumers. The U.S. organic industry posted new records in 2015, with total organic product sales hitting a new benchmark of $43.3 billion, up a robust 11 percent from the previous year’s record level and far outstripping the overall food market’s growth rate of 3 percent, according to the Organic Trade Association’s 2016 Organic Industry Survey(APA). This illustrates how much of an increase the term “natural” has on the market which has been growing significantly over the