Artisanal food label terms

So what does artisanal mean on a US label? Legally, nothing specific. Neither FDA nor USDA defines artisan food, so the word tells you how the maker sees the product, not a standard it met.

For a working definition, borrow one from abroad. Ireland’s food safety authority issued non-binding guidance in 2015 saying "artisan" should only be used when all of these hold:

• The food is made in limited quantities by skilled craftspeople
• The process is not fully mechanized and follows a traditional method
• It is made in a micro-enterprise at a single location
• The characteristic ingredients are grown or produced locally, where seasonal and practical

FDA has long read "natural" to mean that nothing artificial or synthetic, including any color additive regardless of source, was added that you would not normally expect. The agency says it has not made a formal definition, and that the policy does not address pesticides or processing methods such as pasteurization.

Caulfield Provision Company’s sauce labels read "Made using All Natural Ingredients." That is a claim about what went into the bottle, and nothing more.

The 2008 Farm Bill defined local food as under 400 miles from origin or within the same state, as the National Agricultural Library lays out, but no federal rule applies that definition to the word on a jar.

State programs fill part of the gap. Virginia’s Finest, run by the state agriculture department since 1989, says only Virginia products that meet or exceed its quality standards are eligible. A state logo at least tells you the state, which the word local alone does not.

Organic is one of the most tightly defined words here. Under 7 CFR 205.301, "100 percent organic" means what it says, "organic" needs at least 95 percent organic ingredients, and "made with organic" needs at least 70 percent. Below that, organic can appear only in the ingredient list.

Very small producers get an exemption. An operation with $5,000 or less a year in organic sales can sell its food as organic without certification, but it may not use the USDA seal or call itself certified. Seal on the jar, certified. Organic with no seal, ask.

Jam and preserves share one federal standard. For fruits such as strawberry, blackberry, grape and huckleberry, the recipe needs at least 47 parts fruit to 55 parts sugar, and the finished jam or preserve reaches 65 percent soluble solids. Jelly has its own standard, made from fruit juice, at 45 parts juice to 55 parts sugar.

Loudounberry’s Muscadine Jam is a handy test. Its jar reads Muscadine Jelly and lists muscadine juice, not crushed fruit, so by the federal definitions it sits with jelly. When a name and an ingredient list point different ways, the ingredient list tells you what is in the jar.

FDA’s gluten-free rule lets a food carry the claim only if it has no gluten-containing grain as an ingredient (unless it was processed to remove gluten) and contains less than 20 parts per million. The claim is voluntary, and the maker is responsible for meeting it.

Vesta Kitchen’s Sugar & Spice blend reads "Gluten Free, Vegan," and its Brand New Funk furikake also says "Gluten Free." LocalCart does not test products, so the label is the maker’s own statement.

An unqualified Made in USA claim means final processing happens in the US and "all or virtually all ingredients or components" are made and sourced here, the FTC explains. Its labeling rule, finalized in 2021, puts that standard on labels.

Lahtt’s chili oil jar carries a Made in USA badge. Floral Elixir describes its flower syrups as handmade in the USA in small batches, which pairs an origin claim (covered) with a method claim (not covered).