Photo: New Africa (Shutterstock)
I like to think I’m good at seeing through labeling nonsense, but even I got burned by this one. We were staying with family, and they bought the “natural” Skippy peanut butter for my kids’ sandwiches. At home, we get the stuff that’s just peanuts and salt, rather than the Skippy or Jif that’s packed with hydrogenated oil and sugar. Natural Skippy comes in a brown jar with a brown lid, and it says “natural,” so that’s the same thing, right?
It was a big jar, so we took the leftovers home. My daughter liked it, so we kept buying the same brand. Then one day I made a sandwich for myself, and thought wait a minute, this tastes too sweet. I flipped over the label: peanuts, sugar, palm oil, and salt! Not what I thought I was eating at all. (Regular Skippy uses a mix of hydrogenated vegetable oil. Palm oil is more “natural,” I suppose, but it’s arguably worse for the environment.) The nutritional content between regular and “natural” Skippy is identical.
Under U.S. law, food companies can use the word “natural” without having to meet any specific criteria or definition. Foods labeled that way are not necessarily healthier, simpler, or better for the environment.
