What "Natural" Means on a Food Label, According to FDA Policy

The FDA has not set a formal definition of "natural." Its long-standing policy treats the word as meaning that nothing artificial or synthetic, including color additives, has been added that would not normally be expected in that food. "Natural" is one of the most common words on a grocery shelf, and one of the least defined. Unlike "organic," "gluten-free," or "healthy," it has no detailed federal rule behind it for most foods. That does not mean it means nothing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a long-standing policy, and knowing exactly what that policy covers, and what it leaves out, helps you read the word for what it is.

1. No formal definition, but a policy

FDA states plainly that it has not engaged in rulemaking to establish a formal definition of "natural." Instead, it has a policy that dates back to the early 1990s. In FDA's words, it has considered "natural" to mean that:

nothing artificial or synthetic (including all color additives regardless of source) has been included in, or has been added to, a food that would not normally be expected to be in that food.

Three parts of that sentence do the work:

• "Artificial or synthetic": the policy is about what has been added, not how the food was grown.
• "Including all color additives regardless of source": under this policy, added color, even from a plant like beets, is inconsistent with a "natural" claim.
• "Would not normally be expected to be in that food": the test compares the product to what a shopper would expect in that type of food.

2. What the policy does not cover

This is the part most shoppers miss. FDA has said the policy was not intended to address:

• How the food was produced, including the use of pesticides, genetic engineering or other genetic modification, or specific animal husbandry practices.
• How the food was processed or manufactured, such as thermal technologies, pasteurization, or irradiation.
• Nutrition or health. FDA did not consider whether "natural" should describe any nutritional or other health benefit.

So a "natural" label does not tell you the crop was grown without pesticides, that an ingredient was not genetically engineered, or that the food is nutritious. It speaks only to added artificial or synthetic ingredients.

3. Why there is still no definition

FDA has tried. In 1991 it proposed considering a definition, noting that "natural" is used on many products to mean many things and that consumers regard many uses as uninformative. In the 1993 final rule, it said none of the comments gave it a clear direction, and it kept the existing policy instead.

In November 2015, FDA opened a public docket asking whether it should define "natural," prohibit it, or set conditions for its use. The notice explained why: three citizen petitions asked FDA to define the term, one asked it to ban the term, and several federal courts had asked FDA whether foods with genetically engineered ingredients or high fructose corn syrup could be labeled natural. FDA asked dozens of questions, including whether only raw agricultural commodities or single-ingredient foods should qualify, and whether processes like drying, curing, canning, fermenting, or pasteurizing should matter. FDA's page on the topic still describes the policy, not a regulation, as its position.

One example from the notice shows how the policy plays out: synthetic vitamin D would not be used in a food claiming to be natural under the current policy, while vitamin D from a natural source, such as salmon or egg yolks, could be.

4. Meat and poultry follow a different rulebook

Meat, poultry, and egg products are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), not FDA. FDA's notice summarized FSIS's approach at the time: a meat or poultry product could be called natural if it had no artificial flavor, coloring, chemical preservative, or other artificial or synthetic ingredient, and was no more than minimally processed. FSIS also expected a brief statement explaining what "natural" meant on the label. So a "natural" claim on a package of chicken is judged differently from one on a box of crackers.

5. The 2026 change to "no artificial colors"

A related claim changed in 2026. On February 5, 2026, FDA announced it would give companies flexibility to say a product contains "no artificial colors" when it does not contain petroleum-based colors. Previously, FDA said, companies could generally make that claim only if the product had no added color at all, whether from natural sources or not. FDA described this as enforcement discretion, communicated in a letter to industry.

This is separate from "natural." A product may now say "no artificial colors" while containing colors derived from natural sources such as beetroot red or spirulina extract, both of which FDA approved or expanded that day.

6. How to read "natural" on a label

• Treat it as a statement about added artificial or synthetic ingredients, nothing more.
• Check the ingredient list for colors, flavors, and preservatives yourself.
• Use the Nutrition Facts label for nutrition; "natural" says nothing about sugar, sodium, or fat.
• For production methods, look for claims with legal standards, such as USDA organic.

7. Key takeaways

• FDA has no formal rule defining "natural"; it relies on a long-standing policy.
• The policy means nothing artificial or synthetic, including any added color, was added that would not normally be expected.
• It does not address pesticides, genetic engineering, processing methods, or nutrition.
• Meat and poultry "natural" claims follow USDA's FSIS approach, which also requires minimal processing.
• Since February 2026, "no artificial colors" can apply to products colored only with non-petroleum colors.