If you’ve ever looked at a label and seen the words fresh, natural or perhaps lactose-free and thought, “What exactly does that mean?” Then this is for you. You’ll find the explanations for some of the most commonly used terms to help you get to the bottom of what they’re all about and whether they should influence what you eat and drink.

Fresh. You can be forgiven for thinking that the word fresh means just that: a food that’s been freshly prepared and is ready for you sink your teeth into. In fact, this term has been misused in the past, so the FDA has now issued guidelines: It can be put on the label when it’s used to suggest that a food is raw or unprocessed, has never been frozen or heated and contains no preservatives. Irradiation at low levels, however, is allowed.

While the word by itself may only be used if it accurately describes the product, phrases that incorporate “fresh” and its variations aren’t subject to such strict standards.

“Freshly Cooked,” “Freshly Prepared,” and “Fresh Baked.” These descriptions really do seem to add a dish’s “ah” factor. It’s hard to not feel warm and happy about such words and they’re very likely to sway your shopping decisions. If it’s a toss-up between fresh-baked muffins and some plain old rolls, I know which ones I’d be tempted by.

In reality, although these labels may fire your imagination and get the saliva flowing, they may not mean anything regarding a product’s quality. So if you see these expressions, check the period of time and context in which the claim is being used. If, for example, the muffins were baked on the day you’re buying them, then that seems fair enough. If they were “freshly baked” yesterday or several days earlier, then these words are a little misleading.

You see, unless bread has genuinely been made from scratch in the store, the use of the description “freshly baked bread” isn’t really considered acceptable. Very often these days, bread comes to the store partly baked and is just finished on-site – so loaves prepared in this way shouldn’t really be described as “freshly baked,” “baked in store,” or even “oven fresh.”

This may not matter one way or the other to you, as long as what you get is hot and tasty. But if you’re a purist, then you may want to ask the manager exactly how the bread is prepared before deciding what to buy.

“Fresh Frozen,” “Frozen Fresh,” and “Freshly Frozen.” These terms can be used for foods that are quickly frozen while still fresh, such as peas that are harvested and rapidly frozen immediately afterward. It’s acceptable for the food to be blanched (scalding it briefly) before freezing to help stop the loss of nutrients like vitamin C.

“Fresh Squeezed” or “Freshly Squeezed.” If a juice has been made from juice concentrates, then the word fresh shouldn’t be used. If it does qualify for this label, be aware that such drinks usually aren’t pasteurized, which is a heating process that takes the liquid to 160° for 15 seconds to help kill any harmful bacteria. Because they haven’t undergone this kind of treatment, freshly squeezed unpasteurized juices sold in bottles are generally displayed on ice or in refrigerated cases and must carry a warning on the label saying that the product “may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly and persons with weakened immune systems.” Untreated, freshly squeezed beverages that are sold by the glass (not in bottles) don’t have to carry this warning label.

If a beverage of this type has been pasteurized to prolong its shelf life, then the maker should say so on the label by using the words freshly squeezed pasteurized juice. It’s important, because this kind of heat treatment reduces the amount of vitamin C the juice contains.

“Fresh” Pasta, Soups and Sauces. You won’t find many makers of pasta trying to get away with using the word fresh on dried noodles – although you never know. Usually, fresh pasta is the type that needs just a couple of minutes to cook and will only last a few days in the fridge. You’ll find it in the refrigerated section of the supermarket.

As for soups and sauces, since there are lots of fresh ones available these days, it’s accepted that the word fresh can be used to used to describe those that have a relatively short shelf life while refrigerated, compared to more heavily processed versions in cans and bottles.

Natural. This is an interesting claim: Unless it appears on meat or poultry products, there’s no standard definition for it. For these exceptions, the word natural on the label means that the product doesn’t contain any artificial flavorings, colors, chemical preservatives or artificial or synthetic ingredients. It also guarantees that it’s been minimally processed – that is, it hasn’t undergone anything that fundamentally altered the raw product.

For all other goods, “natural” is a general claim that implies that the food or its packaging is made from environmentally friendly materials and that nothing artificial or synthetic has been added to the product itself. However, there’s currently no standard definition for the term. The best advice is to not be too swayed by this claim and to study the product closely before assuming that “natural” automatically means “good for you.”

Lactose-Free and Reduced Lactose. Lactose is the type of sugar found in milk and to a lesser extent in dairy foods such as yogurt. About 25 percent of the U.S. adult population and 75 percent of adults worldwide are said to digest lactose poorly or have low lactase levels. This means that they don’t have sufficient amounts of the enzyme lactase that breaks down lactose, allowing it to be absorbed across the intestinal wall and into the blood.

The result is that the sugar moves undigested into the colon, where it feeds bacteria and leads to the production of potentially painful and embarrassing gas. This condition is common in African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Asian Americans, who naturally produce little lactase after infancy.

According to the National Diary Council, lactose-reduced milk contains about 70 percent less of this natural sugar than regular milk. Lactose-free milk is100 percent lactose reduced and is suitable for people with any degree of trouble in this area.

Nondairy. Oddly enough, the term nondairy doesn’t actually mean that the product is milk-free. In practice, the nondairy creamer that you may use in your coffee can be made from a milk protein called “caseinate.” Although this word will appear on the ingredients list and it will be explained in parentheses that it’s a milk derivative, if you’re allergic to milk products and rely on the term nondairy without checking the ingredients, you could be in trouble. When you see this word on the label, always read the fine print.

Other Terms of Note.

While deciphering the meanings of “fresh” and “natural” can be difficult enough, when other seemingly innocuous terms get thrown into the mix, your head can feel like it’s spinning. Following are several claims food manufacturers like to make about their products... along with the truth behind them.

“Sodium-Free.” Sodium-free is a definition provided by the American Heart Association. Products with fewer than 5 mg of sodium per serving qualify for this label.

“Gluten-Free.” Gluten is a type of protein found in wheat, oats and barley that causes the lining of the digestive system to become badly inflamed when eaten by people with celiac disease. This means poor absorption of nutrients and can lead to malnutrition.

It’s crucial that people with celiac disease remove all traces of gluten from their diet. There are a growing number of lines of gluten-free foods on the supermarket shelves, including cookies, cakes, breakfast cereals and crackers made from other grains such as corn and rice so that they can be enjoyed by those on this special diet.

“Free Range.” This is a popular label seen on eggs, chicken and other meat products. It certainly makes it seem as if the animal has spent a good portion of its life outdoors, grazing, foraging and running around having a great time.

The reality is rather different. While the USDA has defined “free range” or “free roaming” for poultry that ends up being consumed itself (such as in chicken salad), this isn’t the case for hens laying eggs. Even for the birds destined to become turkey burgers, the government only requires that outdoor access be made available for “an undetermined period each day” ... which means that the coop or stall could be opened for just five minutes each morning. And it gets worse: If the chicken doesn’t see the open door or chooses not to dart outside for a quick gulp of fresh air and peck at the ground, it could still qualify as being free range.

“No Hormones Administered.” This broad claim implies that no hormones were used in the production of a food product. The fact is that the USDA prohibits the use of hormones in the raising of hogs and birds within the United States anyway. This means that if pork and poultry products carry this claim, it actually doesn’t mean anything, because they shouldn’t contain any hormones in the first place.

It’s a different story when it comes to cattle, which may be given hormones during their natural life. When beef is labeled “no hormones administered,” this is a plus, because the farmer has gone beyond the regulations for conventional meat production.
The label “hormone free,” however, is considered to be “unapprovable” on any meat products and there is currently no standard definition for the term except for “whole meats” – in other words, the claim can be used on a steak, but not on a potpie containing beef. Unless otherwise specified, there’s no organization independently certifying this claim.

May Contain Nut Traces. Approximately four million Americans, including up to 6 percent of all American children, are allergic to one type of food or another. Eight substances are most commonly recognized as being capable of causing reactions:

Peanuts
Milk
Eggs
Fish
Soybeans
Crustaceans
Tree nuts
Wheat

The amount of an allergenic food needed to cause a severe reaction, especially with nuts, can be minimal. For example, consumption of as little as 1/5 to 1/5,000 of a teaspoon of a trigger can cause death. Thus, what may appear to be an insignificant amount of a food substance to one individual can be potentially dangerous for someone else.

Knowing this, it’s easy to see just how crucial the labeling of potentially allergenic foods such as nuts really is. Currently, companies are allowed to use the phrase “may contain nuts” on their labels if they can’t guarantee that a food they’re producing is free of this substance. This is usually because nuts are being used in the same machines for other foods. A company that makes similar foods with and without nuts may have difficulty cleaning the machines in between making the different versions or packages may run the risk of being mislabeled. This contamination is most likely to occur with cookies, candies, cereals, chocolate, ice cream, dried soups and nut butters.

Allergen advisories or “May contain” statements have been developed by the food industry and are voluntary. As a result, there’s no standardization of messages and no rules for when these warnings can or should appear. Some companies rely on them, others don’t; some use them sparingly, others put them on every product. People with allergies to specific foods are urged to seek professional help and to be fully aware of exactly what items are safe to for them to consume.

The above excerpt has been taken from What Are Your Really Eating? How To Become Label Savvy by Amanda Ursell. It is published by Hay House and available at bookstores or at www.hayhouse.com