Why Misleading Health Claims on Food Labels are Ruining Your Diet

3. “Cage-Free”, “Free Range” and “Pasture-Raised”

These terms indicate animal welfare standards. However, there is also a huge difference between not only how the animal was treated, but the quality of the product you are receiving.

• Cage Free: Hens that are not kept in cages however, still in very crowded conditions with no access to the outdoors being fed corn and soy (GMO).
• Free Range: These hens are not kept in cages, have some outdoor access however, still crowded and fed corn and soy.
• Pasture Raised: These are hens that have full access to indoors and ample space outdoors who have free reign to a nutritious omnivorous diet.

TIP: Eggs labeled “organic”, “vegetarian fed”, “pasteurized” or “certified humane” give you only a piece of the puzzle when searching for a holistically healthy egg choice.

The most nutritious and humane choice is organic, pasture raised eggs.

4. “Hormone-Free”

This claim can come in many different forms such as:

• “raised without added hormones”
• “no hormones administered” or;
• “no synthetic hormones”

All of these claims mean that the animal received no artificial hormones in its lifetime.

Added hormones in our food have been found to be linked to a series of health issues including:

• early onset of puberty
• breast and prostate cancer
• other reproductive problems

The reason why this claim is misleading to consumers is not because the claim is not true, but because of what products this claim is attached to.

Federal law allows hormone administration in beef, dairy and some pork. However, it is illegal in chicken, veal and other meats.

TIP: Read labels carefully when choosing your meat products. If you see the claim “hormone- free” on a pack of chicken, veal or bison, the producer is only trying to mislead you into purchasing the product for a higher price.

5. “No Antibiotics”

More than 1/3 of consumers buy foods that sport the “no antibiotics” label including meat, milk eggs, honey and other dairy products. But does this claim really mean the product has been treated with 0% antibiotics ever?

Studies have shown that the use of antibiotics in our food products has been found to cause an array of health issues including:

• antibiotic resistance
• allergies
• cancers
• nephropathy (low kidney function)
• bone marrow toxicity & increased risk of blood diseases
• genetic mutations
• reproductive disorders

Like many of these misleading claims, there are a variety of ways to say “no antibiotics”.. and confusingly enough, they all mean different things.

Here are some examples of what other similar claims really mean:

• “Organic”: No antibiotics were given (except for in chickens or turkeys before their egg hatched).
• “No medically important antibiotics”: No antibiotics used to treat humans (amoxicillin, azithromycin, etc) were given. Others were.
• “No critically important antibiotics”: Only SOME of the antibiotics used treat humans were given. Others were.
• “No growth promoting antibiotics given”: No antibiotics to increase and/or speed up growth were given. Others were.

TIP: Choose products that have a “raised without antibiotics” label AND a “USDA Process Verified” seal. This ensures that the product has been inspected and officials have confirmed there were absolutely no antibiotics used during the process.

***Other food products with claims such as “sugar- free”, “gluten- free” and “fat- free” may be true, however this does not ensure that the product is a “healthier” option.