>All Natural
>Vegan
>Kosher
>Heart Healthy
>Free Range
>Safe Pork
>Like a Virgin
>New and Improved Labels

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With the dizzying array of information on food labels—from nutrition facts and ingredient lists to seals, certifications, and health claims— today's consumer can have a difficult time differentiating fact from fluff. And though products appearing on supermarket shelves meet federal standards for safety, many shoppers are becoming increasingly concerned about how foods are grown, prepared, and processed before landing in the grocery cart.

"Certifications offer a choice for improved quality. Unlike the Food and Drug Administration's labeling requirements (specifically the nutrition facts panel that lists mandatory information including serving sizes, calories, sodium, and fat), certifications are voluntary, often paid programs," says Nelda Mercer, M.S., R.D., spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). "Consumers want some sort of guarantee that the products they're buying are worth their dollar and meet certain standards."

Even so, many certified products offer little or no nutritional benefit over their unadorned counterparts, and a few come with a premium cost. Here's the bottom line from certifiers and nutrition experts about the most visible food certification programs.

All Natural

The label: the USDA National Organic Program, instituted in October 2002

Found on: produce, meats, dairy, and packaged products.

What it means: Organic products are grown without pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics, relying instead on environmentally friendly farming techniques, such as biological pest management, composting, and livestock feed that is free of animal proteins. Before a product can be labeled organic, a government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to ensure compliance with USDA organic standards.

"There are no definitive studies indicating that organic foods are healthier for you than conventional products," says Kathleen Merrigan, Ph.D., director of the Agriculture, Food, and Environment Program at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition, Science, and Policy. In fact, agencies, including the USDA and ADA, argue that organic foods are not nutritionally superior or safer than their conventional counterparts. And some organic produce might contain pesticide residues. According to the USDA, 23 percent of organic produce contains residual chemicals from substances already in the soil or from pesticides that drift onto organic crops from nearby nonorganic fields.

Cost: Consumers can expect to pay about 20 cents more per pound for organic carrots, 50 cents more for organic baby spinach, and up to $1 more for organic dairy and meat products. The cost to the farmers is based on their crop or livestock and whether they participate in USDA’s cost-share program, which reimburses eligible producers up to $500 a year.

Vegan

The label: Vegan Action's Certified Vegan logo, trademarked in 1999.

Found on: packaged cookies, bar soap, jar chili, vitamins, face lotion, and vegan deli meats that do not contain animal products and have not been tested on animals.

What it means: The vegan lifestyle requires complete abstinence from all animal products, including meat, dairy, and eggs. As the only objective vegan certifying body in the United States (Vegan Action does not manufacture its own vegan products), Vegan Action's logo removes most doubt about a product’s vegan suitability, guaranteeing that certified foods are free of meat and dairy products.

"The logo helps vegans shop without constantly consulting ingredient lists, it helps companies recognize a growing vegan market, and it promotes awareness about the vegan lifestyle," says Krissi Vandenberg, executive director of Vegan Action.

Although vegan-certified products are guaranteed meat- and dairy-free, they are not necessarily produced with 100 percent pure vegan techniques. Vegan Action has no requirements with regard to production equipment — even allowing certified products to be produced on dairy machinery. "As far as ethics," says Vandenberg, "we believe that purchasing a product produced on dairy machinery is not promoting the dairy industry."

Cost: The cost of participation (and as a result, the cost to customers) varies according to company revenue, from $120 a year for companies with annual incomes under $15,000 to $2,000 for companies generating more than $10 million—regardless of the number of products seeking certification.

Kosher

The label: Star-K Kosher Certification, overseen by an organization of rabbis, food technologists, and field supervisors since 1947.

Found on: 75,000 food products including meat, dairy, packaged salads and soups, bakery items, candy, chocolate, and alcohol.

What it means: The tenets of kosher dietary laws are rooted in the Torah and determine which foods conform to Jewish code. Kosher foods require certain specifications with regard to type (e.g. fish without scales are not kosher), preparation (no mixing of meat and dairy), handling (humane slaughtering techniques), and raising food for consumption. Growing at an annual rate of 15 percent for the past several years, the kosher product market depends on two variables: the source of ingredients and the status of production equipment, which assures that meat and dairy products are not manufactured using the same equipment.

Because kosher law demands complete segregation between meat and milk, there is no concern about meat, dairy, or poultry derivatives on Star-K Kosher certified products.

Cost: "The cost of the program varies for each company and depends on the administrative aspects involved in certifying the product," says Pat Herskovitz, executive vice president for Star-K. "There has to be a paper trail and sometimes a visual trail to ensure a product is kosher." Because the cost of participation varies, so does the cost to customers.

Heart Healthy

The label: the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Mark of Approval, launched in 1995.

Found on: frozen foods, cereal, canned fruits and vegetables, pasta and sauces, meat, and dairy products.

What it means: The AHA's red check mark assures consumers that a food meets criteria for heart-healthy levels of fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol for healthy people over age 2. A single serving must be low-fat (less than or equal to 3 grams), be low in saturated fat (less than or equal to 1 gram), be low-cholesterol (less than or equal to 20 milligrams), have a sodium value of less than or equal to 480 milligrams, and contain at least 10 percent of the daily value of protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, and dietary fiber.

AHA-certified products are healthful, but that doesn't make them more healthful than products that aren't certified. "Because certification is voluntary and comes with a cost, products that are equally healthy may not carry the seal," says Mercer. The only way to know for sure which foods are healthiest is to compare the nutrition labels.

Cost: To cover costs for administering the program, including packaging, promotion, science, and legal reviews for each product, the AHA charges an annual fee (about $4,500) for certification. Some manufacturers cover these costs by charging costumers a few more cents.

Free Range

The label: the American Humane Association’s Free Farmed Certified Products, offered since 2000.

Found on: foods made from dairy and beef cattle, laying and broiler hens, swine, sheep, and turkey.

What it means: A Free Farmed logo indicates that products come from animals that were reared, cared for, and slaughtered in the most humane way possible. "Farm animals are free from unnecessary fear and distress; free from unnecessary pain, injury, and disease; free from hunger and thirst; and free from unnecessary discomfort," says Anna Gonce, manager of public information at the American Humane Association, the nonprofit organization that launched Free Farmed.

There's no question that the Free Farmed certification is healthier for the animal, but it probably doesn't make a difference for people. "From what we know today, Free Farmed meats are no more nutritious than conventionally raised," says Mercer. "But, that's not to say there aren't differences in terms of taste or perceived quality." And, like organic animal products, animals subsist on feed without animal proteins, so there is no risk for BSE (mad cow disease).

Cost: A 1999 survey by the Animal Industry Foundation (now the Animal Agriculture Alliance) found that 44 percent of consumers would pay 5 percent or more for meat and poultry products labeled as humanely raised. The cost to farmers is two-fold. First, interested farmers pay an administrative fee of $400, applied toward the cost of assessment (which is generally considerably more than that). Then they pay a "royalty" depending on animal species and type of product produced.

Safe Pork

The label: since the late 1990s, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service has sponsored certified and verified pork programs.

Found on: pork products from Prairie Grove Farms, Montebello Premium Farms, Farmland Foods, and Premium Standards Farms.

What it means: All USDA-certified pork must be tested for trichinae, a parasite in swine that can be passed to humans. Beyond that, certification standards vary. Each company identifies its own set of attributes for USDA certification, such as meat quality, color, fat trim, and blood splash (ruptured blood vessels that appear on meat). "The meaning of certification is different for each producer," says Cara Gerken, Livestock, Meat and Marketing Specialist at the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. "Certification is basically a contractual agreement between companies and consumers, specifying certain quality assurances—and USDA is the certifying body."

USDA's verification program takes certification to the extreme, verifying the entire system from raising, feeding, and handling to slaughter and packaging. "Unlike the certification program, which focuses on the meat itself, verification programs follow processes from start to finish," says Gerken.

Cost: Companies pay an hourly fee of $60 for "graders" to visit the farm and certify pork products. At Prairie Farms, for example, graders visit twice a week. For the verification process program, companies pay anywhere from $500 to $5,000 every six months, depending on the complexity of their process and travel considerations, which also effects the cost to costumers.

Like a Virgin

The label: the California Olive Oil Council’s (COOC) Extra Virgin Olive Oil Certification, established in 1998.

Found on: extra-virgin olive oil produced in California.

What it means: Without a regulating body to govern the contents of olive oil, the COOC provides a seal to oils that can demonstrate their extra-virgin status—eliminating the possibility of knock-offs or oils containing free fatty acids. "Fatty acids refer to the flavor of oil: The lower the free acidity, the higher the quality of oil," says Mercer. "Extra-virgin olive oil has less acid than 'virgin' or 'pure' olive oil—and because it has more aroma and flavor, you can use less."

Oils that are pressed from 100 percent California olives, contain 1 percent or less of free fatty acids (the standard for extra-virgin olive oil set by the International Olive Oil Council), and are free of defects qualify for the COOC certified extra-virgin seal. To be eligible for certification, oils must undergo sensory evaluation by a panel of eight to 10 trained tasters and chemical analysis to test for free acidity.

Pure olive oil bestows myriad benefits ranging from increased HDL levels (the beneficial cholesterol) and reduced risk of heart disease to protection from a variety of cancers. But according to Mercer, whether it's virgin olive oil, extra-virgin olive oil, or any other olive oil, it’s going to have the same nutritional properties.

Cost: California producers pay a small fee to have olive oil tested and certified. That adds a penny or two per bottle to the cost of production—or about a nickel more at the store.

Bottom line: Because health sells, certifications offer manufacturers a competitive edge. "The more information consumers have to make an informed choice, the better," says Mercer. "Certifying agencies are trying to raise the bar for quality. Ultimately, that’s good for consumers."

Amy Paturel is an epidemiology analyst and health writer in Los Angeles. She has a master's degree in nutrition and a master's degree in public health, both from Tufts University in Boston.