The Clean Label Movement: 4 Ways to Complete and Comply

More and more people every day are scouring the ingredient lists on the food they purchase. Artificial ingredients, whether for flavor or color, are frowned upon, as are many preservatives. The “Clean Label Movement” defines the trend of investigating the labels provided on food products. But what is a clean label?

A clean label is one that represents all the ingredients used in the production of the food, and it doesn’t include any artificial ingredients, including artificial preservatives. Since your customers will most likely not encounter the food as it’s being prepared, how can you assure them you use clean label foods? Here are four ways to put your clean label customers at ease.

1. Ask Your Food Suppliers

You won’t know if a dish you are preparing for a customer is truly clean label unless you know that every ingredient you are using is also clean label. It’s important that you find out from your suppliers whether or not they adhere to this standard. If they aren’t sure, or you’d like to double-check, ask them to send you the ingredients lists for every food source they provide, as well as documentation of how they produced the product.

2. Keep Ingredient Lists on Hand

If a customer comes in and asks you if the food you serve is clean label, you not only need to know you are telling the truth when you say it is, but you also need to be able to prove it to them. This means having the ingredient lists for every meal you provide, as well as the ingredient lists for the food products you use to make them.

3. Use Proper Wording When Making Claims

While there is no legal definition of what clean label actually is, it’s important to be as truthful as possible when making claims about the foods you serve. If you make a statement about a meal containing only non-GMO ingredients, that has to be proven true. Other claims, such as “all-natural ingredients” or “no artificial ingredients,” also have to be true. It may help to have an insurance agency with experience making clean label food claims help you make sure you are advertising the great things you are doing with your food products, but not overstate the facts.

4. Go Eco-Friendly and Promote It

Many consumers associate high-quality, healthy foods with the clean processes used to make the food itself, but being eco-friendly also includes the packaging, marketing, and other steps. In a restaurant, this could be sending excess food to farms that provide the meat you use, using cloth napkins instead of adding to landfills with paper ones, or creating your menus with recycled materials.

The trend of clean labeling of popular and healthy foods won’t slow down anytime soon. In fact, new legal definitions of clean labeling may be released by the FDA and USDA sooner than you think. The Clausen Agency, Inc. knows the restaurant business well. Contact us for all your business insurance needs.