Labeling foods as ‘functional’ has no doubt become the most popular marketing stunt of food manufacturers and to keep a check on the fast pace profits of $90bn a year, from fake labels, FDA has been coming-up with equally popular but fragile attempts.
However, the latest in the row is reported to be one of the most stringent labeling measures taken up by the Standards Australia’s food standards board to single out organic from inorganic foods on the food labels. Clear warnings from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has spelled out action against misleading organic food labels based on the content, preparation, production method, origin or standard of a product.
However, there is a lot of propaganda in favor of organic and free-range foods, there is still a brouhaha concerning definitions and set standards of organic and free-range foods, which would make labeling restrictive in nature and educate consumers at the same time. Cracking misleading labels is not enough, converting the subjective words like ‘pure’ and ‘fresh’ into objective standards, is much more important for the benefit of the food industry and the consumers.
