“Natural.” “Green.” “Organic.” Anyone who’s ever taken a trip down a supermarket aisle knows there are some words on food labels that seem more appealing than others, usually due to the healthy ideas they can conjure up. However, companies producing foods should take the messages they put on their packages more seriously, and strive to be correct in their product descriptions. Taking credit for a health benefit your item doesn’t actually offer can lead to eventual devaluing of your brand and company.
For example, look at the term “whole grain.” Customers who don’t know any better might just assume that any bread product with this specific label might be better for you simply as a matter of course. A recent Scientific American examined this point, as well as the misconception that any “whole grain” product was automatically good. While whole grains themselves are beneficial, the article states, products that go through certain forms of processing might not be.
The article quoted Joanne Slavin, a food science professor, as describing the phrase as overblown.
“We don’t want people to think that because a food has whole grains, they should eat more of it,” Slavin told the source. “Grains in general are overconsumed in the U.S.”
Food makers should take this into consideration. It may be more genuine to offer health guidelines that advise consumers as to how they can incorporate your product into their greater diets, rather than simply list words without any description. Making labels that accomplish this may seem out of your grasp, but not if you have the right color label printer at your disposal.