Nowadays, it makes sense to look at ingredients used in the manufacture of products we use or eat, because an “All Natural” label might not mean what it says. What we are learning from personal care product websites, is that the All Natural label doesn’t come with a guarantee of safety and sustainability.

Consumers have to raise their awareness that while natural is often used interchangeably with organic as a product description, there is a great difference distinguishing the two terminologies.

The Significant Distinction of Organic from Natural Products

First off, “Natural,” “All Natural,” or “100% Natural” are descriptions generally used to describe food and drinks. Consumers looking to change their dietary habits by eating healthy, often look for Natural or All Natural and not organic.

Natural denotes a substance or compound produced by, or derived from living organisms existing in the natural environs of the planet. When used as ingredients of certain types of food, drinks or supplements, natural compounds or substances increase the potency of a product as a health-giving commodity or supplement.

Why Choose Organic Over Natural

The thing with food products simply labelled as Natural or All Natural is that there is no guarantee that every material and process used in its production does not include synthetic or man-made elements.

Natural products may have large proportions of natural substances as ingredients but may include emulsifiers, binders, preservatives sweeteners, flavors or colors to improve the products’ natural taste and general appearance. Unlike the Organic label, Natural does not come with a guarantee that the product meets all the standards in terms of safety and sustainability. In some cases, they are not even required to pass the standards set by the Food and Drug Administration.

A natural product may be natural up to a certain extent but it cannot be organic if its development and production include the use of animals for testing, or of adding or spraying chemical fertilizers to propagate growth and in driving away pests.

The only way consumers can find out if a food, beverage or supplement is All Natural or 100% Natural is to check all other substances listed as ingredients.

What Makes Organic Products Better than Natural Commodities

While there are no specific requirements that would qualify a product for a Natural label, the opposite is true for organic products. In the United States for example, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have sets of rules and regulations in ascertaining that a product is organic. Products that meet such rules and regulations will be awarded with a certification as attestation that all applicable standards, requirements and regulations have been met. Moreover, to ensure that the organic quality of the product will be maintained and sustained, the different government agencies perform periodic checking of products that have been certified as organic.