Are Clean Labels the Route to a Healthier Food Supply?

Eric DeckerDepartment of Food Science

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

What is a Clean Label

• Clear, clean and understandable declaration of food ingredients• Kitchen recognizable ingredients• Started in 2015• Consumer driven desire to remove synthetic food additives• Some of the first companies to list “non-clean” ingredients include

Whole Foods and Panera • Now being adapted by essentially all major food manufacturers

https://www.fona.com

Non-Clean Ingredients

1. Acesulfame K (Acesulfame Potassium)2. Alum (Aluminum Ammonium Sulfate/Aluminium Potassium Sulfate)3. Aluminum Calcium Silicate/Bentonite (Calcium Aluminosilicate, Calcium Silicoaluminate, Sodium Calcium Silicoaluminate)4. Ammonium Chloride5. Artificial Colors (Synthetic and Certified FD&C)6. Artificial Flavors7. Aspartame8. Astaxanthin9. Autolyzed Yeast Extract10. Azo Dyes11. Azodicarbonamide12. Benzoic Acid13. Benzyl Alcohol/Benzoyl Peroxide(Synthetic only)14. BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole)15. BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene)16. Bromated Flour17. Brominated Vegetable Oil18. Caffeine (Added, not naturally occurring)19. Calcium Bromate20. Calcium Peroxide21. Calcium Sorbate22. Canthaxanthin23. Caprocaprylobehenin24. Caramel Color (Classes II-IV)25. Carboxymethyl Cellulose26. Carmine/Cochineal27. DATEM(Diacetyl Tartaric Acid)28. Diacetyl/Acetoin29. Dipotassium Sulfate30. Disodium Guanylate (GMP)31. Disodium Inosinate(IMP)32. EDTA (Calcium Disodium EDTA/Disodium Dihydrogen EDTA)33. Esters of Fatty Acids34. Ethoxyquin35. Fat Substitutes (Sucrose Polyester, Microparticulated Whey Protein Concentrate)36. FD&C Colors37. Glycerides(Mono & Diglycerides, all forms)38. Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin39. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)40. Hydrogenated Starch41. Hydrolyzed Soy or Corn Protein42. Lard

43. L-Cysteine (Cystine)44. Maltodextrin45. Monosodium Glutamate/Sodium Glutamate (Added MSG, not naturally

occuring)46. Neotame47. Nitrates/Nitrites (Added, not naturally occuring)48. Parabens (all)49. Partially Hydrogenated Oils/Artificial Trans Fat50. Polydextrose51. Polysorbates (all)52. Potassium Benzoate53. Potassium Bisulfate54. Potassium Bromate55. Potassium Lactate56. Potassium Sorbate57. Proprionates (Calcium, Sodium)58. Propyl Gallate59. Propylene Glycol60. Propylene Glycol Alginate61. Saccharin (Calcium Saccharin)62. Salatrim63. Silicones/Siloxanes (Methyl Silicon, Dimethylpolysiloxane)64. Artificial Smoke Flavor65. Sodium Benzoate66. Sodium Diacetate67. Sodium Erythorbate68. Sodium Lactate69. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate70. Sodium Metabisulfite71. Sodium Phosphate/Trisodium Phosphate72. Stannous Chloride73. Sucralose74. Sucroglycerides75. Sulfites (Added, not naturally occurring)76. Sulfur Dioxide77. Tertiary Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ)78. Theobromine(Added, not naturally occurring)79. Titanium Dioxide80. Triacetin/Glycerol Triacetate81. Vanillin

No No List

Where Did the Clean Label Idea Come From

• Organic• First started by USDA in 1990 and

published in 2000• Certified organic =

• Avoidance of synthetic chemical• No GMO• Organic land• etc

• Natural• On more than 40% of food labels• $41 billion in sales per year in U.S.• No regulatory definition• Could have GMOs, Processing

Aids, Flavors• Has resulted in many lawsuits• FDA is looking into regulation

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com

Class Action Lawsuit in 2012

Organic corn meal, expeller pressed sunflower oil, whey, cheddar cheese (milk, sea salt, cheese cultures, enzymes), maltodextrin, sea salt, natural flavors, organic sour cream (cultured organic skim milk, organic cream, cornstarch, dry organic skim milk, acidophilus, bifidus culture), torula yeast, lactic acid, citric acid.

Enriched corn meal (corn meal, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin and folic acid), vegetable oil (corn, canola, and/or sunflower oil), cheese seasoning (whey, cheddar cheese [milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes], canola oil, maltodextrin [made from corn], salt, whey protein concentrate, monosodium glutamate, natural and artificial flavors, lactic acid, citric acid, artificial color [yellow 6]), and salt

Do Clean Labels make Foods Better?

Food Purchasing Drivers

Nutrition ValueConvenience

Sensory

Sustainability

Are Cleaner labels Healthier

• Kellogg’s Corn Flakes• B-6 15%• B-12 15%• Riboflavin 15%• Folate 15%• Iron 30%

• 365 Corn Flakes• B-6 Not Declared• B-12 Not Declared• Riboflavin Not Declared• Folate Not Declared• Iron 2%

Organic milled corn, organic cane sugar, sea salt, soy lecithin (emulsifier)

Corn (89%), sugar, salt, barley malt extract, vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin E [soy], niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, folate), minerals (iron, zinc oxide)

Food Purchasing Drivers

Nutrition ValueConvenience

Sensory

Sustainability

Food Sustainability and Value are Linked

• Increasing sustainability = decreasing food waste• Decreasing packaging = decrease use of resources = decrease landfill =

decreased cost• Decreasing energy for food production = decreased use of resources =

decreased cost• Increasing shelf-life = decreasing food waste = increasing sustainability =

decreased cost• Prevent microbial degradation• Inhibit oxidative rancidity• Protect vitamins• Stabilize color and flavors

If You Can't Say It, Don't Eat It Michael Pollan

• Lipid oxidation = Rancidity• Rancidity limits the shelf-life of many fats high in unsaturated fatty acids• Rancidity can be delayed by the use of antioxidants

• Tocopherols• Consumer scary ingredient• Are naturally occurring antioxidants in almost all living beings• Natural tocopherols are actually a mixture of several compounds of which α-tocopherol = Vitamin E

• Mixtures of tocopherols are the best antioxidants in foodsO

CH3

OH

CH3

CH3

H3CCH3CH3CH3

α−Tocopherol

Decreasing Rancidity in ω-3 Food Emulsion

050

100150200250300350400450500

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Months

Prop

anal

(uM

)Control

Toc

EDTA

Toc + EDTA

Rancid Oil can be Disgusting and Toxic

Treatment time of DSS (day)0 2 4 6 8

Bod

y w

eigh

t (%

)

85

90

95

100

105

110Neg Ctrl (no DSS)Un-oxidized corn oil Oxidized corn oil

Food Purchasing Drivers

Nutrition ValueConvenience

Sensory

Sustainability

Natural Colors

• Pure Food act of 1906 decreased allowed colorants from 700 to 7• Certified Colors = FD&C Colors = synthetic compounds

• Cheap and stable

• Colors exempt from certification = natural colors• Red-purple = Anthocyanins = Grapes, Purple Carrots and Red Cabbage• Red = Betalains and carminic acid = Beet and Bugs• Orange = β-carotene = Carrots• Yellow = Lutein and Curcumin = Marigolds and Tumeric• Blue = ? = Spirulina (Blue algae)

www.sensient .com

Challenges of Natural Colors

• Supply Chain• Not enough purple carrot grown to meet need for natural purple• Regulatory enforcement has been poor• 25% of natural colors failed basic specifications

• Residual solvents• Heavy metals• Pesticides• Pathogenic bacteria• Adulterants: FD&C colors, red brick, uncertified plant material

• Overall, the trend to natural color is good as many of the compounds with color are also nutritionally beneficial

www.saves.com

Tumeric

• Natural color is curcumin, 5% of tumeric• Some of the strongest evidence for health benefits in humans• Strong anti-inflammatory properties and anticarcinogenic acitivity• Chemical instability limits its use as a color • Poor bioavailability limits its use as a bioactive food component

www.vergecampus.comwww.cdadc.com

Food Safety

• Listeria monocytogenes• Food borne pathogen found in many ready to eat foods

• Post processing contamination• 1990’s major outbreaks were from processed meats and now are primarily

from dairy products • Meat producers controlled Listeria by addition of lactate and acetate mixtures

www.fightback.org

Listeria Protection with Clean Label

• Bar SMechanically Separated Chicken, Water, Dextrose, SaltContains 2% or less of the following: Modified Corn Starch, Corn Syrup, Flavorings, Potassium Lactate, Sodium Diacetate, Sodium Phosphates, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite.

• Oscar MayerMechanically Separated Turkey, Mechanically Separated Chicken, Pork, Water, Cultured Dextrose* Contains Less than 2% of Dextrose, Salt, Corn Syrup, Distilled White Vinegar* , Cultured Celery Juice* , Sodium Phosphate, Cherry Powder, Flavor. * Ingredients Used to Preserve Quality.

Now to Make Things even more Complicated

• Processing Aid• Substances that are added to a food during the processing of such food but

are removed in some manner from the food before it is packaged in its finished form.

• Substances that are added to a food during processing, are converted into constituents normally present in the food, and do not significantly increase the amount of the constituents naturally found in food.

• Substances that are added to a food for their technical or functional effect in the processing but are present in the finished food at insignificant levels and do not have any technical or functional effect in that food.

Examples of Processing Aids

• Organic acids used for washing vegetable to remove bacteria and pathogens

• Enzymes used to increase extraction of fruit juices• Antifoaming agents in frying oils• Modified packaging gases in meats• Filtering systems to remove components from water

Soybeans from Good to Bad

• Soybeans used to be the golden child of nutrition• Generally high protein quality (lacking in amino acid methionine)• Contain bioactive isoflavones

• Plant estrogens• Maybe good for bone health and cognitive function

www.mnsoy.com

http://eathealthylivefit.com

Not all Soy is the Same

• Tofu and Soy milk and Sauce• Use whole soybeans:

• Milk and Tofu: Extract protein and fat

• Soy Sauce: ferment• Tofu: Add nutritionally significant

amounts of calcium and magnesium to gel

• Soy Protein and Oil• Soybeans are extracted with

hexane (processing aid) to isolate oil

• Protein used for animal fed of extruded to make texturized vegetable protein for human consumption

• These soybean products have fallen out of favor by many

• Hexane extracted, GMO, phytoestrogens

http://foodtechinfo.com

Different Types of Oil Processing

• Solvent extracted• Expeller pressed (hot or cold)• Both could be refined or unrefined (pure vs virgin)

• Refining stabilizes oil by removing prooxidants and also removes pesticides• Unrefined leaves many natural components that could be beneficial to health

but could be high in pesticides if not organic• Unrefined can also be high in free fatty acids = low smoke point = not good for

frying

• Cost• Refined hexane extracted canola = $1/pound• Expeller press canola = $4/pound

oil-expellers.com

Packaging- Taking Ingredients out of Food

• Inert food package that provides protection (e.g. light), tampering resistance, and physical protection.

• Active food packaging s designed to interact with the contents and/or the surrounding environment to increase the shelf

• Ethylene scavengers• Moisture absorbers• Oxygen scavengers

OMAC®Iron based O2 scavenging incorporated in the food

package

O2

O2

O2O2

protective gas barrier (aluminum)

Iron-based O2scavenger

Polyolefins

O/W EmulsionOutside

Package

Alternative Oxygen Reduction Method

PET

Oxygen Absorbing Films Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Oxygen Absorbing FilmUses Ferrous Iron to Absorb Oxygen

Oxygen removed quickly by filmOxygen Removal stopped lipid oxidation

Could be used to replace EDTA in Mayonaise

Clean Meat Meat made by Cell Culture

Bioposy

Isolate muscle stem cells

Multiply muscle cells

Recover and concentrate cells

http://www.new-harvest.org/mark_post_cultured_beef

Clean Meat

• Advantages• No animal rights issues• Less greenhouse gases• Less chance for food pathogens• No antibiotic use• Better use of agricultural raw materials

• Feed:gain 6:1 cows; 3.5:1 pigs; <2:1 chicken• Land use• 4-6 weeks to make chicken

http://www.memphismeats.com/

Cultured/Clean Meat

• Limitations• Original burger cost $330,000; Current cost $9000/pound chicken• Will vegetarians eat it?• Only in ground form, no steak• Culture medium traditionally contained animal products• Must be grown on a surface

• Limits scaling up production• Is subject to contamination by other cells• Where’s the fat?• Where’s the flavor?

• Animal diet

www.builtLean.com

http://www.new-harvest.org/

Conclusion

• Movement toward “Clean Label” Foods is great as it will remove many chemical additives

• However, converting to clean labels needs to be done with caution so that important factors are not compromised such as:– Sustainability– Nutritional composition– Safety

• Even in the best cases, clean label, like organic will likely cost more.