It seems that the US citizens are confused when it comes to shopping for food and that too for a common word - 'natural'.
Recently it has been found out that the percentage of people who buy food labeled as natural regularly, has grown from 59% in 2014 to 62% in 2015 according to a report by Consumer Reports.
Unfortunately, although the craze over natural food has increased drastically, yet the study shows that the consumers are practically clueless about what 'natural' food actually means.
For 60% of the shoppers, a natural label on the food means processed and packaged foods, which do not contain any genetically modified organisms, or artificial ingredients, and is free from color, pesticides and chemicals.
While 45% of the shoppers, believe that having a natural label means that it is verified which is not true.
Notably, the report comes at a time when the Food and Drug Administration takes a closer look at the food labels and the definitions of the various words used to describe the food.
Several organizations, including the Consumer Reports and the Grocery Manufacturers Association has been urging FDA to redefine the term in the recent years.
"The problem with having all these misleading labels is it creates a lot of green noise in the marketplace," says Urvashi Rangan, director of food safety for Consumer Reports. "If we think about wanting better food-production systems, then we need to provide meaningful choice to people."
Adding to the complexity of the food labels, is the fact that shoppers consider certain terms in their food to be 'healthy' and use them as purchase signals irrespective of the regulations, reports USA Today.
"If there's a health claim on the front of the package, that's what we zero in on," says David, professor of behavioral economics at Cornell University. "They're interpreting those as, 'This is going to have some different impact on the way my body functions after I eat it.'"
