Rising to the clean label challenge

Developing product to meet the demand for clean label is not easy, not least because the concept is ill-defined. Limited ingredients and shelf-life issues add to the challenge.

What is clean?

They say that cleanliness is next to godliness. The dictionary defines ‘clean’ from three views. One, it is free from dirt and stain. Two, it is morally uncontaminated and upstanding. Three, it is free from irregularities and has smooth lines. All of these definitions do not seem to describe this new food category.

Having read dozens of marketing research articles from the food industry about clean label, one thing is clear: there is very little agreement what a clean label is. One writer actually said the definition is ‘unclear’. That was an honest, upstanding and clean response.

One survey reported that only 38% of consumers indicated they had a pretty good understanding of the definition of a clean label. For them, it included farm grown, sustainable, minimally processed and real ingredients, and simple labelling. Another reported that a clean label was to range from natural to organic, non-GMO, no artificial ingredients, be free of negative ingredients and contain fruits and vegetables.

George Collings