Food labels: what they really mean

The Food Standards Agency has clamped down on the use of labelling after it discovered three quarters of consumers felt misled or confused by some of the flowery language used.

Here is a guide to the misleading labels watchdogs uncovered - and those which will now be outlawed.

How food producers confuse us with words

Farm fresh eggs

No legal meaning, but likely to have been laid by battery hens

Barn eggs

Laid by hens kept inside throughout their lives in often overcrowded conditions

Nutritious

Manufacturers have begun adding apparently healthy vitamins and minerals to foods to appeal to the health conscious. However, some critics claim this ploy has been unfairly used to promote products high in fats, sugar and salt

Style

Just means imitation, as in Greek-style yoghurt. Gives no clue as to the place of manufacture, which is more likely to be Altrincham than Athens

Cod steak

Likely to be formed from off-cuts, flakes and scraps which are made into a patty using water and chemical firming agents

Flavour

No guarantee that the taste comes from the real food ingredient, ie raspberry flavour jelly need not contain any raspberries

Low fat

Often meaningless. A low fat product may in fact have more fat than a conventional product made by another company

Corn-fed chicken

Diet of the birds must be at least 50 per cent maize grain. But feed may have been treated with antibiotics which speed growth

Smoked bacon

Often means flavoured with a chemical liquid injected into the meat

Meaningless words

Classic, heritage, prime, wholesome, full of country goodness

Labels to be outlawed - or restricted

Country-style

Should not be used to describe any food or food ingredient

Natural

Product must comprise of ingredients produced by nature, not the work of man or interfered with by man. Containing no artificial chemicals

Pure

A single ingredient food. It can be used to describe non-sweetened fruit juice or a concentrated juice reconstituted with water

Fresh

Claims by supermarkets with on-site bakeries selling 'oven fresh' or 'freshly baked' bread to be outlawed.This ban will apply if the bread is prepared and frozen elsewhere and finished off in the store

Traditional

Used only to describe a recipe, formulation or process that has existed 'for a significant period' - likely to be longer than 50 years

Original

Based on a formulation which can be traced and has remained unchanged over time

Authentic

Used to emphasise the geographic origin of a product, eg 'authentic Devon toffees'

Home-made

Food prepared in a domestic kitchen rather than in a factory or manufacturer's kitchen

Farmhouse

Accept it can be used to describe a large white loaf of bread, but considered meaningless in other circumstances

Most watched News videos