Rosemary Maguire, from In Essence, asked those that attended the SAAFoST Sensory Forum’s fun day whether ‘natural’ still had a place in the South African food industry and introduced the latest trend: SIMPLICITY.
‘Consumers want ‘natural’ foods – food free from “bad stuff”! E numbers are off nutrition statements,’ said Rosie Maguire in a presentation for the SAAFoST’s Sensory Forum in February. And with the ‘natural’ trend growing each year, fuelled by and linked to numerous other trends such as ‘organic’, ‘whole’ and ‘eco-friendly’ foods, the colours and flavours industry has been bought under the spotlight, she warned.
Despite this, ‘natural’ is no longer a unique selling point in the US or Europe. Products claiming ‘natural’ can no longer demand premium prices as ‘natural’ is automatically expected by consumers.
In SA, the dilemma has reached a different crossroads. Because of the new labelling legislation, according to the Foodstuffs, Disinfectants and Cosmetics Act, the term natural has been made void. So, whether a product is truly ‘natural’ or is claiming to be ‘natural’, either way the term ‘natural’ may not appear on any food packaging as from 1 March 2012.
According to Maguire, the word ‘natural’, automatically suggests that a product has ‘intrinsic health benefits.’ She added that ‘you can pin health benefits, if you want consumers to believe it, on to something that is naturally present in foods – for instance,the ‘intrinsic’ health benefits of fruit in fruit juice.’
Another factor driving the ‘au naturel’ trend is what Maguire calls, ‘what matters to mums’. If a product is ‘natural’ it must be free from ‘bad ingredients’ and, as such, good for your little ones. Maguire stressed that there is just no science in this – ‘It has everything to do with the consumers’ belief that natural equals good.’
Maguire pointed out these, frequently unscientifically- researched ‘natural’ health claims by drawing attention to the SA trend of pinning ‘natural’ goodness claims to local ingredients such as cassava, a staple throughout Africa. ‘Intrinsic’ health benefits have been attached to this humble vegetable as an obvious selling point, but Maguire warned that if cassava is eaten without being detoxified, it becomes cyanide once it reaches the stomach of a human.
Defining ‘natural’ is a huge problem that the food industry faces. In SA, Maguire told us, the Department of Health uses the Oxford Dictionary as a guideline for its definition of ‘natural’. But because there is no formal or uniform definition for the SA food industry, there is a lot of confusion.
Maguire highlighted that, due to the new labelling legislation, the ‘natural’ trend would, in fact, become counterproductive. ‘All flavourings on the ingredients statement are just ‘flavourings’, whether natural or synthetic’, says Maguire, so why spend extra on’ natural’?’
This was a major concern raised amongst the attendees after Maguire’s presentation. ‘Why would the term ‘natural’ be used if it’s not allowed, and will research turn to chemical research?’ asked an unidentified attendee.
Maguire pointed out that there is a globalisation in the food industry and with the ‘natural’ trend still hard and fast in Europe and the US, focus will still be on ‘natural’ in the many international flavour houses in SA, though guidelines will become far stricter.
In Europe, Maguire told us, the ‘educated consumer’ of today looks at labels and thus the ‘clean label’ movement arose. This was an attempt by manufacturers to simplify the ingredient list on food packaging, she said. And she went on, has lead to what she calls the ‘simplicity trend’. ‘What it comes down to ‘is that consumers are lazy.’
The ‘simplicity trend’ emphasises how ‘simple’ everything is and that food can be put together in ‘three simple steps’ and ‘meals are made in minutes’. And the more ‘simple’ it is, the more ‘natural’ it is. The three biggest food trends, convenience, ‘natural’ and ‘simplicity’, are all essentially connected.
So what does the term ‘natural’ mean to the SA food industry, and is it still relevant? According to the Innova database in 2010, 1 449 products with the ‘natural’ claim were launched in SA. ‘With journalists in consumer magazines telling us what to eat and the government telling us what to eat by passing legislations such as that for labelling and the Consumer Protection Act, the rise of ‘naturalness’ continues’ warned Maguire.
