On their website blog, Van Drunen Farms recently looked at the clean label movement, things to keep in mind when food manufacturers decide they need a cleaner label, and, more specifically, things to avoid.
“When I was a kid, we had fruit punch and juice with flavors like Groovy Grape or Wacky Watermelon. Was there any real watermelon in there? Not. Today, mothers give their children 100% fruit juice, or better yet, real fruit.” Kerry Sikorski, Quality Compliance Manager at Van Drunen Farms, has noticed the change in how consumers choose products, which is reflected explicitly in how parents feed their children.
While it’s true that parents want their children to eat real food with real nutritional benefits, Van Drunen explains that the clean-label movement goes far beyond children’s foods and beverages. According to Van Drunen, the trend has “saturated the industry.”
Their blog discusses first what “Clean Label” means and then goes deeper to discuss what food manufacturers need to avoid to appeal to clean-label consumers. Sikorski then identifies three interconnected standards, emphasizing that distinguishing between them will help when creating clean-label ingredients:
- synthetic ingredients
- highly processed ingredients
- artificial ingredients
The blog offers insight into the benefits of moving to clean labels and encourages readers that there may be more than one way to do so. They urge readers to rely on insight from their consumers when choosing what clean label means to their formulas.
Skidmore carries an extensive line of products from Van Drunen Farms. Contact your Skidmore representative for more information.
