What are Natural Ingredients?

Natural Ingredient Resource Center

While it is true that there is no official, U.S. government regulated definition for the term natural pertaining to the natural products industry, the FDA refers to natural ingredients as "ingredients extracted directly from plants or animal products as opposed to being produced synthetically." The key word there is, "extracted directly". In the case of some ingredients, it's easy to see that they fit easily into this definition. But what about raw materials that need to undergo some processing or chemical reaction in order to extract the ingredient from the natural raw material that is the source?

Even distilling aromatic plants to produce essential oils sometimes results in the creation of chemicals that didn't exist in the raw material, but which are created by the actual distillation process alone! The "Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients" says a natural product is defined as a "product that is derived from plant, animal or microbial sources, primarily through physical processing, sometimes facilitated by simple chemical reactions such as acidification, basification, ion exchange, hydrolysis, and salt formation as well as microbial fermentation."

"In the early '80s the FTC came up with a great definition for Natural - never adopted. They said that an ingredient may be called "natural" only if it contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients and has had no more processing than something which could be made in a household kitchen."

The Green Products Alliance

The USDA has a legal definition for "natural", but it applies only to meat and poultry; "those products carrying the “natural” claim must not contain any artificial flavoring, color ingredients, chemical preservatives, or artificial or synthetic ingredients, and are only “minimally processed” defined by USDA as a process that does not fundamentally alter the raw product."

The USDA National Organic Program defines non-synthetic as "a substance that is derived from mineral, plant, or animal matter and does not undergo a synthetic process". They define a synthetic as "a substance that is formulated or manufactured by a chemical process or by a process that chemically changes a substance extracted from naturally occurring plant, animal, or mineral sources, except that such term shall not apply to substances created by naturally occurring biological processes."

Consumers Union

CU is the publisher of Consumer Reports, which is an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization serving only consumers, states; "Natural is a general claim that implies that the product or packaging is made from or innate to the environment and that nothing artificial or synthetic has been added. There is currently no standard definition for the term except for meat and poultry products. Unless otherwise specified, there is no organization independently certifying this claim. The producer or manufacturer decides whether to use the claim and is not free from its own self-interest."

And that is where the Natural Ingredient Resource Center steps in. Quote: "We have evaluated the various definitions for "natural" within other industries, in other countries, and by other organizations. Our Mission is to create a real, working definition for natural ingredients which can be used by consumers, manufacturers and retailers in the natural products industry; to promote the use of natural ingredients by offering news & resources to learn more about natural ingredients; and to promote "Truth in Labeling" within the natural products industry through the use of a graphic Seal and voluntary agreement to label products according to our "Truth in Labeling" pledge."

COMMENT PERIOD: We invited consumers, manufacturers, retail representatives and any other interested parties to review and offer constructive input on the voluntary standards we have developed. The NIRC values this important role. The comment period ended on January 31, 2005. The NIRC offers the definition of natural ingredient for the purpose of establishing working standards for labeling natural ingredients and natural products as a service to the natural products industry.

We are not a certifying organization. We will not decide who can use the Seal, and use of the Seal does not imply endorsement. We do not receive any funding from the sale of any products; our only fees are from the sale of advertising and promotional space on the NIRC web site, and from our bookstore in association with Amazon.com. All involvement is voluntary and on the honor system. The site's content is subject to change without notice. The NIRC web site contains links to web pages generated by groups, businesses or individuals whose expressed views do not necessarily represent the views of the NIRC. Furthermore, we do not actively monitor or control web content from those companies or agents linking to our URL address or those found by following our links to other sites. These links are provided ONLY as a GENERAL service to web site users, and there is no implied endorsement of these links by the NIRC. References to products, services, or organizations do not imply that we endorse such products, services, or organizations UNLESS WE SPECIFY SAID ENDORSEMENT EXPLICITLY.

GLOSSARY

* Minimal Processing means the ingredient has had no more processing than something which could be made in a household kitchen, stillroom, on a farm, or vineyard. It doesn't mean they have to actually be made in those settings, but that they would require no more equipment or technology than that which could be employed in those settings. Simple Extraction Methods/Simple Chemical Reactions include cleaning, cold pressing, dehydration, desiccation, drying, evaporation, filtering, grinding, infusing [water or natural alcohol], & steam or water distilling.

** Produced by Synthesis, a compound made artificially by chemical reactions, from simpler compounds or elements. The NIRC has allowed for an exception in the case of "lye" in the manufacture of soap.