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Labels can lie.
That’s the hard truth behind some food products sold in grocery stores and at farmer’s markets said to be locally sourced. In reality, they could be from much farther away than you think.
People are willing to pay more for something like a six-pack of craft beer or a bottle of wine if it’s locally produced because they perceive it as being higher quality in comparison to a national brand, new research published this week in the Journal of Marketing.
Researchers at Indiana University found that marketers who advertise their products as being local and charge higher prices are more likely to appeal to customers compared to discount stores.
There may, however, be a catch.
“Labels are not always truthful,” Katherine Paul, associate director at the Organic Consumers Association, a Finland, Maine-based nonprofit, told MarketWatch. “No one is policing them.”
The term “local” on food packaging hasn’t been officially defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That’s a problem: the Journal of Marketing study shows that consumers will pay premiums for locally sourced food or beverages like canned wine, sauces and baked goods because they can identify with the region or town they came from.
Food manufacturers are required to register with the FDA as a food facility, and an inspection would follow once every three or five years to check on food safety controls, sanitation and food labeling. However, the agency doesn’t address label issues outside of regular inspections.
“The FDA requires food labeling to be truthful and not misleading, and considers product-labeling concerns on a case-by-case basis,” Nathan Arnold, an FDA spokesman said in an email. “Among other things, we consider the terms used within the context of the entire label when determining compliance with our requirements.”
States impose food labeling requirements, which require sellers to detail how food is prepared, processed and where the ingredients are from, in addition to any additives in foods. But the term “locally grown” can be misleading, especially since the definition varies state by state.
In Vermont, for example, the word “local” is only used on products made within 30 miles of where it’s sold. Maryland, meanwhile, makes retailers include where the product is from if they market it as locally grown.
It’s unclear whether food manufacturers can be punished for calling a food “local” if it’s not, even though it’s a clear misrepresentation of a product. A similar fraudulent instance is calling a food “homemade” if the seller didn’t actually make it, an act that’s illegal in New York City.
In fact, a 2018 investigation by USA Today found that 18 states don’t set a minimum on the percentage of locally grown foods a product must contain to be labeled as a state brand. And 36 states have no formal review requirements so just about anyone can call their food “local” without verifying where the ingredients actually come from.
The paper highlighted several companies that had misleading labeling. Among them: Milo’s Tea Company, which sells products in stores like Walmart
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has been advertised as “Buy Alabama’s Best” despite having tea leaves reportedly sourced from India and South America (the company is headquartered in Alabama).
Iced tea from Milo’s costs between $2.58 and $2.85 for a gallon compared to Walmart-branded Great Value iced tea for $2.37 that’s not locally sourced. Milo’s Tea Company did not return a request for comment.
USA Today cited another coffee brand, Park City Coffee Roaster, which sells a “Utah’s Own” label, but the coffee beans were not actually grown in the state. Another bag of coffee is labeled as “Local’s Secret Blend.” It costs $16 for a 12-ounce bag. A Starbucks
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12-ounce bag of Medium roast coffee costs around $6.42.
“Utah’s Own is a local directive used for Utah marketing to Utah by the Dept of Commerce in Utah. It does not mean it was grown in Utah, but is was produced for a finished product,” Robert Hibl, owner of Park City Coffee Roaster, told MarketWatch in an email.
Vendor fraud at farmer’s markets is not uncommon. NBC
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in Los Angeles surveyed local farmer’s markets in 2010 around Southern California and bought vegetables like broccoli from a farm in San Bernardino County, then visited the farm the same day and asked if they could see where it grew.
All they were shown was a patch of dry dirt. Another farm claimed their produce was “pesticide-free,” but a test at a state-certified lab showed samples of fruit did in fact contain pesticides. Similarly, a shopper in Washington, D.C. thought she was buying “locally grown” strawberries only to find out that they were actually “locally grown” more than 2,000 miles away in California.
Farmers’ markets have started to become more strict with who they allow to sell at their enterprises. Charles Town Farmers Market in West Virginia started a “Know Your Vendor” program in 2014, creating guidelines, one of which required an on site-visit to vendors participating in the market to make sure the products sold at the market were actually produced by the vendor after instances of farmers’-market fraud in the area.
And some grocery stores even hire teams to scout out food companies to make sure they’re legit. Whole Foods
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partners with producers near their stores, and has a team of foragers across the country who hand-pick products. They also inspect to see how food is grown, raised and processed. (Whole Foods did not reply to request for comment.)
If you’re buying produce at your local supermarket, Paul suggests asking a staff member to identify the farm where the produce is grown. And if you’re at a local food market, ask the seller. If you’re eating you, you may be out of luck. Paul said there’s still no way to tell if food advertised on restaurant menus as “local” actually is, she says.