Organic, Natural, Holistic, Gourmet, Human Grade, Confused?

The labeling of bird food products can be over the top confusing for many of us.

Here are the label Buzz words 

Organic, that's supposed to be the best right?

All Natural, well of course I want natural foods because unnatural sounds, well, unnatural right?

Holistic, now that sounds like something I need for my bird to help stay healthy right?

Gourmet, that sounds yummy and nutritious and top-of-the-line right?

Human Grade Ingredients, oh my, if it's not human grade then whatever is it?

So let's break down these magical common words on labels and what they really mean for our birds.

Organic or Certified Organic:

Organic refers to the way ingredients are grown, harvested, and processed. Organic ingredients must be free of synthetic additives like pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and dyes, and cannot be processed using industrial solvents, irradiation, or genetic engineering.

If a bird food is 100% organic, the bird food may display the USDA Organic seal.

If a bird food is at least 95% content organic, the bird food may also display the USDA Organic seal.

If a bird food is at least 70% content organic, then “Made with Organic Ingredients” can be used on their label, but they cannot use the USDA Organic Seal anywhere on the product.

If a bird food is made up of less than 70% organic ingredients, then only those organic ingredients may be listed as organic on the ingredients listing, and no mention of ‘organic’ anywhere else on the product; the organic seal cannot be anywhere on the packaging.

All Natural:

To be considered all natural the bird food's ingredients must be derived solely from plant, animal, or mined sources (your guess is as good as mine on that last one).  However once gathered, the manufacturer can put the food through any type of manufacturing process that the company wants to, as long as they don't add anything synthetic to the food unless of course it's necessary to add it because it's being processed.  Right, like that's not really confusing.  So some all natural foods may not be quite as all natural as we would like. 

However the FDA does give us a little bit of a definition of natural: "For the most part, 'natural' can be construed as equivalent to a lack of artificial flavors, artificial colors, or artificial preservatives in the products."

Holistic: 

Sadly as far as bird foods go, there is no real legal definition for holistic foods.  So you need to thoroughly read the labels to find out what holistic means for that particular food.  What most of us want in Holistic bird food is a food with natural ingredients, no added chemicals or artificial anything, no antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, or dyes.  

I would want to see an ingredient listing of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and healthy safe plant herbs, with no processed by-products.  It's okay if it contains some enhanced vitamins and minerals, but overall should have great ingredients and be good for my bird.

Human Grade Ingredients:

Means the bird food must be of a high enough quality to be consumed by humans and approved by the government  powers that oversee.

To truly contain All Human Grade ingredients the food would have to meet both requirements from the USDA for pet food, and the FDA for human food.  Although it can be done, there are probably not many bird food manufacturers able to fully meet these requirements.  Only bird food made in human grade facilities, subject to the inspections and approval necessary to have human grade status by the government, can be legally considered 100 percent human grade.

Gourmet: 

FDA labeling guidelines say: "Products labeled as premium or gourmet are not required to contain any different or higher quality ingredients, nor are they held up to any higher nutritional standards than are any other complete and balanced products."

So what that really means is that 'Gourmet' is a fancy word that sounds really healthy and super important, but doesn't guarantee the food actually is.  Thoroughly reading the ingredient listing will tell you how 'Gourmet' it truly is.

Non-GMO:

One last label distinction that is showing up more often is the use of Non-GMO on labels.  Non-GMO means "non-genetically modified organisms".  GMOs are created in laboratories by genetic modification/engineering techniques.  Doesn't sound very good, and it probably isn't, but I'm not getting into that debate in this article.  Some bird food manufacturers are now getting approval by the government to add this to their labels and I think that's a plus for all of us trying hard to feed the healthiest foods to our birds.

SUMMARY

Best advice is to always read the complete ingredients on every label.  Not every bird needs the same food ingredients so look for what is best for your particular bird.  Although higher priced doesn't always mean higher quality, it often can be, and as they say, sometimes you get what you pay for.  

Introducing your bird to fresh, cooked, as well as packaged foods, often makes for the healthiest diet, and lots of fun time foraging through it all.