12 Vague Supermarket Food Labels With Explanations
Grocery stores are littered with controversial labels such as “artisan,” “fresh,” and “humanely grown.” Some of these terms can be misleading in nature, but not all of them are completely devoid of meaning. Here are some of the most confusing terms you will come across in a supermarket and what they mean.
Beef, poultry, eggs and fish
“Humanely brought up and controlled”
When you see this label, it is meant to conjure up images of farmers hugging and petting their animals, living long and happy lives. Unfortunately, as Take Part’s Jane Lear explains , the use of this terminology is not regulated at all:
Even though the product has passed the USDA Process Verified, there are no standards for this term. Companies set their own standards, which can be verified by the USDA (if the company chooses this service), but not necessarily.
In general, anyone can put these words on their label. If you want to be sure that you are buying meat products produced by humanely farmed animals, take a look at the following certifications:
Depending on your supermarkets and distributors in your area, beef with one of the above certifications can cost almost double the price. For example, at a nearby supermarket, certified humane beef costs about $ 20 a pound, while USDA Prime regular cereal costs about $ 9.50 a pound. So it may cost you a little more, but at least you will know what you are paying for. Just make sure they have one of the certifications mentioned above.
“Without hormones”
The term “hormone-free” in relation to chicken or pork products is one of the most misleading terms you are likely to come across. Hormones are generally not allowed to be used in poultry or pork production , so there should be no news about distributors that they are hormone-free. It’s just a label that makes you think other chicken and pork products do contain hormones.
This does not mean that you should completely avoid products labeled “hormone-free,” it just means that this is not a selling point. The same goes for eggs labeled “No antibiotics.” Laying hens are rarely – if ever – raised with antibiotics, so that’s okay. This is another shortcut to help you feel secure when purchasing a product. If you want your chicken and pork to be as intact as possible, look out for the green USDA Organic label.
“Beef Black Angus”
First of all, Black Angus is a breed of cattle and not a quality of beef. Second, while the Black Angus is known to grow rapidly and have better marbling (which improves taste), it is also the most common cattle breed in the United States. So a sticker with the words “Black Angus Beef” or “Angus Beef” is not particularly enthusiastic. Derrick Richs, BBQ & Grill Expert, explains :
… low-grade beef, or often unclassified beef, is branded as Angus for sale to fast food chains and a wide range of consumers. This does not mean that these products are not made from Angus beef, but the claim that Angus stands for quality is not true. Over the past few decades, the word Angus has come to mean what it simply does not have … The fast food hamburger or mass consumption hot dog engraved with the name Angus is still the lowest quality beef that can be sold for human consumption. even if it comes from Angus cattle.
If you see higher prices for something with an Angus or Black Angus label, don’t be fooled. This is especially true for things like pre-frozen burger patties. At my local store, frozen chops labeled Black Angus cost almost $ 2 more per pound compared to others without special labels.
However, if you see the Certified Angus Beef label, it means it meets USDA criteria and must be rated Prime or Choice. So if you’re going to splurge on extra, make sure you’re buying certified Angus beef, which is actually considered above average. However, keep in mind that the Certified Angus Beef label says nothing about how humanely the animal was raised.
“On the pastures” or “On the pastures”
Again, this shortcut is meant to make you think the animals were raised outdoors in large open spaces. The problem is that many farm animals spend some time in the pasture at some point in their lives. Marilyn Noble of the American Grassfed Association explains that the term is unregulated and can mean different things to different farmers and different places.
While the pasture-raised label may well be worth your money, another distributor might use it to raise their prices. For example, at my local supermarket, pasture-raised ground beef costs $ 8.99 per pound, compared to $ 4.49 per pound for the same unlabelled beef variety.
If buying humanely bred animals is important to you, it may be helpful to do a little research before you go to the store. The labels we have highlighted above also apply to these types of products. Plus, there is no guarantee that it tastes better or that the meat is healthier, so be sure to research farms and distributors ahead of time to find out who you are buying from. You can even do a quick phone search in a store if you don’t know what might be available in your supermarket.
“Free range” or “Free roaming”
The term has been applied to many chicken and chicken eggs to drive up the price, but it’s not as good as it sounds. The free-range label, although regulated by the USDA, simply means that the chicks do not have individual cages and that they have “outside access.” Once again, the word “access” is tricky here.
These chicks will have access to the outdoors, but this will usually be a small, walled-off patio or other similar enclosure. Also, the USDA does not have any quality or “open” size standards, so you probably won’t buy well-living chickens or their eggs with this label. The same goes for any chicken products marked “No cages”. It simply means that they were not raised in individual cages, but they could still be grown indoors, in overcrowded conditions. That doesn’t stop my supermarket from charging $ 5.50 for “fresh, natural, farm-raised, cage-raised and free-range eggs,” though. Compare that to $ 3.50 for regular large eggs in the same store, and this amount can increase over time.
Supermarkets can abuse these labels to get you to pay a little more, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t good places to buy eggs from properly processed chickens. If you’re worried about where the eggs come from, it’s safe to say that your local farmer’s market is. There you can do your own research to find out which farmers are fair using these labels. Even in the supermarket, you can still find eggs from reputable, humane farmers. Look for “Certified Humane,” “American Humane Certified,” or “Animal Welfare Approved” labels. Sometimes you just need to do a little research to figure out who you can trust.
“Grass feeding”
This is a standard set by the USDA in 2007, which means that cattle were grass-fed and had access to open pasture for most of their lives. However, as noted by Miki Kawasaki of Serious Eats , this does not mean that the animal necessarily had an exclusively herbal diet. It can also cost more to raise certified herbivores, so buying them in the store is more expensive. Forrest Pritchard, a Virginia farmer, explains in a Huffington Post article that he has to charge about $ 5.25 a pound to make ends meet. Compared to the $ 3 / lb average for grain-fed beef in most supermarkets, that’s a big jump in price and value for you.
Of course, this does not mean that grass-fed beef is sometimes not worth the money. Grass-fed beef has a different, much stronger flavor than many people prefer grain-fed beef. It can also be leaner than grain-fed beef. If you want to be sure you are getting the best grass-fed beef has to offer, look out for the AGA Certified label. The American Grassfed Association requires farmers to maintain high standards in animal rearing:
- Diet – animals are fed only grass and fodder from weaning to harvest.
- Isolation – Animals are raised on pasture, not limited to paddocks.
- Antibiotics and hormones. Animals are never treated with antibiotics or growth hormones.
- Origins – All animals are born and raised on American family farms.
Depending on your personal views, it might not be worth buying grass-fed all the time, but it is definitely worth considering when you want to buy a really good steak or something.
“Wild” and “caught” fish
These terms are used to refer to different types of fish and mean what they look like. Wild fish are fish that are caught in the wild using nets or rods. Wild caught means the fish may have appeared in the hatchery, but were released and caught after spending most of their life in the wild. Wild and caught fish can be more expensive to buy in the store, but as Monica Reinagel, nutritionist at Quick and Dirty Tips, explains, there are no particular health benefits. In my store, wild-caught salmon cost nearly $ 20 a pound compared to farm-raised salmon, which cost $ 10.49 a pound.
However, there are many more benefits to wild fish. Whether they are located in the ocean, lake or river, hatchery fish farms can have detrimental effects on the ecosystems around them. So, buying wild fish can give you a little peace of mind. In addition, wild and wild fish tend to taste better, especially when it comes to shrimp, salmon and tuna. If you want to taste better fish and know that your fish lived freely, wild and wild caught can be worth the extra money.
Fruits and vegetables
“Local”
When you buy fruits and vegetables, you may be pleased to know that you are supporting local producers by purchasing their products. Buying locally can also mean getting the freshest fruits and vegetables available. However, according to producer Matt Seeley , it may not always be clear on a “local” label how local the products are:
“One retailer might define this as goods from their own state, another might include border states, and a third might be 300 miles from a distribution center. Still others can say whatever we can deliver to our stores within 24 hours of harvest. “
Popular grocery chain Whole Foods will call everything within the state local. Therefore, if you see a local sticker, it may not be as close as you would like it to be. If you want to know where it came from, feel free to ask the person in charge of the production. Or, if you’re determined to support local farmers, check out the nearest farmers’ market . You will get great products at great prices.
“Seasonal”
Fruits and vegetables are certainly seasonal foods, but the term “seasonal” may not mean that this is the season you are in. Katie Means, vice president of industry relations at the Product Marketing Association, notes that something could be called “seasonal” if the product in question is in the season it came from . If you want to support local producers, you can assume that any products labeled “seasonal” come from somewhere nearby and have been recently collected, but this is not always the case.
For example, your supermarket might say that the season is for a particular grape variety, but it is actually from Chile. This does not automatically mean that these grapes are inferior, but using the “seasonality” label is a little disingenuous and can make you feel like you are supporting local growers. In addition, early harvest, different storage methods during transport, and long transport times can result in degraded quality compared to nearby produce. It may be possible to harvest strawberries all year round, but they probably won’t always be as tasty.
If you want to know what’s really seasonal in your area, look at grocery prices throughout the year to spot trends. Over time, you will get a feel for what products and when to buy. You can also use an information site like Eat the Seasons to find out what’s in season and where it’s grown. Finally, don’t hesitate to drop by the local farmers’ markets. If the products in question are out of season, you probably won’t see them on sale.
“Fresh”
The term “fresh” sounds good, doesn’t it? It looks like the fruit or vegetable has just been picked and sent to the store for sale. However, according to the FDA , the term simply means that the product in question has not been processed and is raw, but has not been frozen. This also means that the product has not undergone any other form of canning … except:
- Permitted waxes and coatings
- Permitted post-harvest pesticides
- Mild chlorine or acid wash
- Small amount of ionizing radiation
All of these methods are designed to ensure food safety during transport from manufacturer to seller, but they definitely get rid of fresh sails. And it definitely has nothing to do with whether it’s organic or not . The term can also be applied to beef and poultry, all of which means that the meat has not been cooled below 26 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, meat that has previously been frozen can be labeled “fresh”. They may not inflate prices too much with this type of label, but they will try to attract you with an attractive display, perhaps by forcing you to buy some “fresh” products that you didn’t have on your list.
Bread and grains
“Craftsman”
The term has become fashionable to refer to foods of higher quality than “normal” food. It looks like other now meaningless terms like “gourmet” and an attachment to bread and pastries to give the impression that they were personally baked by master bakers in their private kitchens. However, there are actually handicrafts that are dumped under the marketing bus. To ensure that you are truly getting artisan quality at artisan prices, marketing research firm The Hartman Group invites you to ask yourself these three questions:
- Is the real person careful to create this product?
- Is it handcrafted, in small batches, or in limited batches using special ingredients?
- Does it reflect experience, tradition, passion or process?
If you cannot answer yes to any of these questions, you are being cheated and the product is not worth the overpriced.
“Multigrain”
It is logical to assume that “multigrain” is better than anything else. The word speaks for itself: there are several grains, and this should mean that this is better. While this means more than one grain was used in the manufacture of a product, it does not always mean it is worth buying.
If you’re trying to be as healthy as possible with bread, you’re actually better off using 100% whole grains . It has more fiber and vitamins and minerals than multigrain bread. Of course, whole grain breads can contain more sugar, so be sure to check the ingredient label before purchasing. If you’re just trying to save money, at least look for “whole grain” bread, not just “wheat” (that’s just another way of saying refined white flour). This chart from the Whole Grain Council can help explain in more detail what you get with which labels.