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Hormel Lawsuit Reveals What ‘Natural’ Meat Really Means
The food giant won dismissal of a lawsuit claiming misleading advertising, but not before revealing what goes into its products.
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Consumers want “natural” meat—and the biggest meat companies want to sell it to them.
American shoppers are reaching for healthier, more environmentally and animal-friendly meat products, with 39 percent saying “all-natural” is the most important claim when purchasing red meat, according to a recent survey by Mintel. But there’s one problem: The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that when it comes to meat and poultry, the term “natural” means only that the product has no artificial ingredients and has been minimally processed.