Clean labeling
Clean Labeling ( English for clean labeling ) is the advertising of foods with the indication that the product specific ingredients do not contain. As a rule, this applies to substances that consumers consider unhealthy or reject them for other reasons, in particular dyes , preservatives , flavors , flavor enhancers and genetically modified foods , but also nutrients such as sugar or hydrogenated fatty acids . Conspicuous lettering on the packaging with formulations such as "without ...", "free of ..." etc. is common. Some individual substances are named (for example "alcohol-free"), and some entire substance classes (for example "without preservatives") , partly qualified terms (for example “without artificial aroma”, but possibly with natural aroma).
requirements
A prerequisite for a clean label on a food is of course that the product actually fulfills the promise. If the information is inaccurate or misleading, the manufacturer violates § 11 LFGB (regulations on protection against deception) under German law . If the manufacturer advertises that certain ingredients are not used, they must actually do without them. Even if it contains additives that are not subject to declaration and are therefore not listed in the list of ingredients (for example because they are contained in an ingredient but are no longer technologically effective in the product in accordance with Article 20 of the Food Information Ordinance and Section 9 Paragraph 8 No. 1 of the Additive Admissions Ordinance ), it may not be advertised that the product is free from these substances. In some cases, due to other legal provisions, certain more or less low limit values apply, such as for the terms “low-sugar” and “sugar-free” in the European Health Claims Regulation .
In addition, advertising that is self-evident is not permitted, i.e. it must not give the impression that not using an ingredient is a special feature of a certain product if this ingredient is completely unusual or even prohibited by law. If the manufacturer nevertheless wishes to emphasize that his product does not contain the substance concerned, he must add the note accordingly. Therefore one occasionally finds formulations like “no preservatives according to the law”.
Controversial evidence
If reference is made to the waiver of an entire class of additives, the decisive factor is generally how a substance is legally classified. For example, citric acid is an additive that has to be declared, but not a preservative according to Annex 5 of the Additive Approval Ordinance . It can therefore be combined with the note “no preservatives”, even if it has a preservative effect in the product. Another well-known example is yeast extract : This has a flavor-enhancing effect and is added to the product. However, yeast extract is not an additive at all in the legal sense, and therefore, when adding yeast extract, the claim “no flavor enhancer added” is permissible. The same applies to coloring foods such as beetroot extract , which are not coloring agents in the legal sense, even if they are only added to the product for coloring purposes.
Surveys show that in such cases many consumers have more extensive expectations than the manufacturer actually meets with the product and feel misled by the clean label advice. Consumer protection organizations such as consumer advice centers , Stiftung Warentest and others have been criticizing clean label advice for years, which they consider to be unjustified and unfair.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Clean Labels. Federation for Food Law and Food Science e. V., accessed April 13, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c Petra Unland: “Clean Label” from a practical perspective. (PDF 1.3 MB) In: backwaren aktuell. Knowledge Forum Backwaren, April 2011, pp. 2–7 , archived from the original on July 22, 2012 ; accessed on January 23, 2019 (original website no longer available).
- ↑ Study shows: Consumers do not understand food information and feel misled. (No longer available online.) German Federation of Consumer Organizations, January 24, 2013, archived from the original on April 16, 2014 ; Retrieved April 15, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ "Without additives" - nevertheless colored, flavored and enhanced in taste. (No longer available online.) Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, archived from the original on April 13, 2014 ; Retrieved April 15, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
