"Natural" Food Products with Toxic Chemicals and GMOs Deceiving Consumers

A revelatory report released by The Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry watchdog, has stirred controversy in the natural foods marketing arena by highlighting abusive marketing practices by some of the nation's largest breakfast cereal manufacturers. In some cases, companies such as Kellogg's, Quaker Oats (PepsiCo), Barbara’s Bakery and Whole Foods Market are selling products contaminated with toxic agrichemicals and Monsanto's genetically engineered organisms while promoting them as "natural."

The new report, Cereal Crimes: How “Natural” Claims Deceive Consumers and Undermine the Organic Label—A Look Down the Cereal and Granola Aisle (available at www.cornucopia.org) explores this growing trend of marketing conventional foods as “natural” to lure health-conscious and eco-conscious consumers and their shopping dollars.

Unlike the organic label, no government agency, certification group, or other independent entity defines the term “natural” on processed food packages or ensures that the claim has merit.

In contrast, breakfast cereals displaying the USDA's "certified organic" logo are produced under a strict set of verified standards prohibiting the use of petrochemical-based fertilizers, sewage sludge, synthetic toxic pesticides, genetically modified crops, and many other common conventional agricultural and manufacturing inputs.

Cereal Crimes details how prominent agribusinesses are increasingly using various strategies to create the illusion of equivalence between the “natural” and organic labels to mislead consumers.

“Some companies that started out organic, and built brand loyalty as organic brands, have switched to non-organic ingredients and “natural” labeling,” said Charlotte Vallaeys, Director of Farm and Food Policy at Cornucopia.

One such brand, Peace Cereal® is an example of what Cornucopia calls “bait-and-switch.” In 2008, the Peace Cereal® brand switched from organic to cheaper conventional ingredients, without lowering its prices. Today, the cereal is sold in natural food stores and mainstream grocers at prices above many of their certified organic competitors that are using more expensive organic ingredients.

Although the prices may be similar, in reality, there is a vast difference between organic and “natural” products from grain produced with the use of toxic pesticides. In some cases, companies charge high prices for “natural” products that even contain genetically engineered crops developed by St. Louis-based Monsanto.

Pesticides that are strictly prohibited in organics are commonly used to produce ingredients for “natural” products. For example, organophosphate pesticides were developed from World War II-era nerve gas and are designed to be toxic to the neurological systems of target organisms. They are deadly to insects but also have been proven damaging to humans—with fetusesi and children especially at risk.

Several recent studies have linked organophosphate pesticide exposure to a wide range of developmental disorders in children, including behavioral problems, poorer short-term memory and motor skills, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).ii, iii, iv, v While federal law prohibits organic farmers from using these toxic pesticides, no such restriction exists for “natural” products.

"This is exactly why parents are seeking out truly natural (organic) products for their children and are deceived by corporate agribusinesses and their Madison Avenue agencies," said Vallaeys.

USDA testing has found residues of organophosphate pesticides like chlorpyrifos and malathion on corn, soy, wheat flour, and oats, which are all common ingredients in breakfast cereals. In the case of wheat flour, residues were found in more than 60% of samples.

Given increasing consumer interest in avoiding genetically engineered (GE) ingredients, The Cornucopia Institute contracted with an independent, accredited laboratory to test many “natural” breakfast cereals for potential genetic contamination.

"Natural" cereals from brands including Kashi (Kellogg's), Mother’s (PepsiCo), Nutritious Living, Barbara’s Bakery (Weetabix), and 365 (Whole Foods Market) contained high levels of genetically engineered ingredients (between 25%, and 100%)—even though a number of these companies are represented as "non-GMO" to the public.

To help health-conscious consumers make informed grocery purchases, Cereal Crimes is accompanied by a scorecard rating various breakfast cereal and granola brands for the true support of healthy and environmentally sustainable practices. The scorecard can also be viewed on Cornucopia's website.

“Consumers probably find this marketplace subterfuge less surprising when they learn that many of the leading ‘natural’ cereal brands are really manufactured by giant agribusinesses like Kellogg's, hiding behind the façade of well-established niche brands,” said Harry Bennett, a marketing official with the Kansas Organic Producers Association, a cooperative marketing organic grain.

Despite finding that “natural” cereal products offer few, if any, advantages over conventional products, companies typically charge substantially higher prices for products with “natural” labeling claims.

Analysis by Cornucopia of wholesale and retail cereal and granola prices revealed that “natural” products often are priced higher than equivalent organic products. This suggests that some companies are profiting from consumer confusion.

For example, prices in the leading natural/organic food distributor’s wholesale catalog for multigrain flakes show that two of the least expensive products are actually certified organic, offered by industry leader Nature’s Path and Food for Life. Meanwhile, Kashi’s 7-grain cereal, made with cheaper non-organic grains by the multinational corporation Kellogg but disguised as an independent sounding “natural” brand, is priced higher than equivalent organic options.

Karen Zwicky of Minneapolis, MN said she just bought several boxes of Kashi cereal for her 2 year old daughter, who she's been feeding a "pretty" strict organic diet.

"Target was handing out samples of Kashi, and she loved the taste and I trusted the brand, even though it isn't labeled as organic," Zwicky explained. "I don't mind that the big brands buy out the smaller organic and more sustainable companies, what really is disturbing to me is that it seems that they are only doing so in order to buy consumer trust."

"Committed organic companies, rated highly in Cornucopia’s online scorecard, must compete against giant multinationals such as Kraft Foods (Back to Nature), Pepsico (Mother’s) and Kellogg’s (Bear Naked /Kashi) and misleading “natural” marketing claims,” stated Mark A. Kastel, Codirector at the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute. "When marketers intentionally mislead consumers with their “natural” products, they are taking business away from the companies providing truly safe and healthy food and supporting certified organic farmers."

Become an expert in 4 min. (YouTube video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sw2uEupTwo

Organic farmers in the US have received lower prices for their grains as cereal companies drop their demand for certified organic ingredients and switch to “natural” labeling and cheap, conventional ingredients.

According to research by the Natural Marketing Institute, a market research firm, two-thirds of U.S. consumers believe foods today are less safe to eat because of chemicals used during the growing and processing of foods. Given this widespread interest in avoiding foodborne chemicals, it is increasingly important for consumers to realize that buying "natural" foods does little, if anything, to avoid synthetic inputs and toxins used on the farms and inside the manufacturing plants.

"While calling their products natural, some of the largest breakfast cereal manufacturers are adding ingredients processed with the neurotoxic solvent hexane, a processing agent that is banned in organic food production," added Kastel.

Genetically Engineered Ingredients in "Natural" Food
The Cornucopia Institute sent samples of “natural” breakfast cereal to an accredited GMO testing laboratory. Out of nine samples of “natural” breakfast cereal that yielded results, six (a full two thirds), contained high levels of genetically engineered corn or soy, including such major brands as Kashi, Barbara's and Whole Foods'365 label.

“This was not incidental contamination,” says Kastel. “Levels of GMOs were between 28% and 100%, showing that these manufacturers purchased GMO ingredients for their so-called natural cereal products.”

Some of the brands and products that tested positive for high levels of GMOs are enrolled in the Non-GMO Project, and as a result, are listed as good choices in some online non-GMO shopping guides.vi

For example, the Non-GMO Shopping Guide includes brands such as Kashi, Whole Foods Market’s 365 Everyday Value and Barbara’s Bakery, which all tested positive for GMOs. One hundred percent (100%) of the soybeans used in Kashi’s GoLean cereal was shown to be genetically engineered.

Specific products like Barbara’s Bakery’s Puffins and 365 Corn Flakes are listed in the Non-GMO Shopping Guide – yet they contained 55% and 57% GMO corn, respectively.

Neurotoxic Solvents (Hexane) Used to Process "Natural" Food Ingredients
Hexane is a solvent commonly used to separate the oil, fiber and protein from grains and seeds. Some granola and cereal manufacturers use soy ingredients, such as soy grits and soy protein isolate, which are commonly hexane-extracted and can contain residues.

Past testing by The Cornucopia Institute has shown hexane residues in some "natural" food ingredients. In addition to being toxic to humans, hexane is a dangerous chemical to both the environment and workers who have to handle the material. A number of hexane-related fires and explosions have caused injuries and deaths in food manufacturing plants.

Debra Boschee, an astute consumer from Rapid City, South Dakota, said "It isn't the things we know that scare us, it's the things we don't know, such as 'what's really in my food.'"

In addition to accessing The Cornucopia Institute's new scorecard, comparing the nation's natural and organic cereal brands, families who are interested in feeding their families the safest and most nutritional food can also find the ratings of over 120 organic dairy brands, to augment a healthy breakfast, on the Cornucopia website: www.cornucopia.org.