2% Rule

[Guest guest]

I have a question about the 2% rule in pre-made foods. I've heard:

1. A company does NOT have to list any ingredient under 2%

and

2. A company HAS to list all ingredients under 2%, they just don't have to list

them in order of greatest to smallest quantity.

Which of these is correct? I haven't had any luck in googling (search terms are

too common).

Holly

Crohn's

SCD 12/01/08

[Guest guest]

1. is correct but I read they have to say gluten free now only if it is gluten free.  Some groups are trying to change the law and even Obama has mentioned it.

 

Debbie 40 cd

 

Of course, something could have changed at the start of the year.  There was an article about changes made but I forgot about it--maybe it's still in the paper someplace ;-).

 

I have a question about the 2% rule in pre-made foods. I've heard:1. A company does NOT have to list any ingredient under 2%and2. A company HAS to list all ingredients under 2%, they just don't have to list them in order of greatest to smallest quantity.

Which of these is correct? I haven't had any luck in googling (search terms are too common).HollyCrohn'sSCD 12/01/08

[Guest guest]

Question: Is the 2% label rule real or just a myth that we perpetuate? I'm

curious about this.

>

> I have a question about the 2% rule in pre-made foods. I've heard:

>

> 1. A company does NOT have to list any ingredient under 2%

>

> and

>

> 2. A company HAS to list all ingredients under 2%, they just don't have to

list them in order of greatest to smallest quantity.

>

> Which of these is correct? I haven't had any luck in googling (search terms

are too common).

>

> Holly

> Crohn's

> SCD 12/01/08

>

[Guest guest]

> Question: Is the 2% label rule real or just a myth that we perpetuate? I'm

curious about this.

Here's what I found when I did a search:

http://www.kashrut.com/articles/LabelingLaw/

Finally, the reader will note that no mention has been made of an exemption of

an ingredient that is less than two per cent of the food. Entrenched, somehow,

in the public mind is a notion that anything less than two per cent need not be

labeled. That idea is at loggerheads with the regulations. So where did the idea

come from? Actually, there is a source for a two per cent rule in the

regulations. But it's very different from what people think it is.

The two per cent rule plays a role in the following: all ingredients must be

labeled in order of predominance, by weight. The heaviest is first, and so on.

All ingredients that are less than two percent of the weight of the product are

freed from being placed in a specific order – that is, order of predominance by

weight. As long as the ingredients label writes: " the following ingredients are

present at less than 2% " or " 1.5% " or so on, the ingredients can be in any order

that the manufacturer chooses.7

Liz

[Guest guest]

At 12:54 AM 1/16/2010, you wrote:

Which of these is correct? I

haven't had any luck in googling (search terms are too

common).

Given the results of efforts to find SCD-safe foods which, for instance,

I could keep unrefrigerated for hurricane season, I believe that the 2%

rule does exist.

I believe -- although I cannot provide any links to prove it, since, as

you note, the search terms are extremely common -- that it runs something

on the order of " a company is encouraged, but not required to list

anything under 2%, but if they do, they are not required to list them in

order of amount as they are with ingredients in larger

amounts. "

Is this a myth perpetuated by SCDers to encourage making one's own food?

Maybe.

I remember Elaine telling us how she visited canning facilities when she

was trying to determine what prepared foods could be included on SCD. One

reason for the elimination of all canned fruits and vegetables except

fruit in its own juice and tomato juice was because, in the course of her

research, she determined that the processors would add a big squirt of

sugar syrup to a vat of fruit or vegetables if it did not, due to

seasonal variations, have the right Ph and flavor. They did not always

add it, and were therefore not required to put it on the label.

It's true that labeling laws have changed since Elaine was first

researching for BTVC -- and that she continued researching up to the day

she died.

I don't feel, however, that the processing of food has improved in those

years -- I feel that processors are MORE rather than LESS likely to

include junk in our food in order to maximize their profits.

As a consequence, I consider the label on a food product to be the first

step in determining whether something is SCD-safe or not. I choose not to

consider the label the authority because I have been made ill multiple

times by foods which appeared to be legal. See also corn starch as an

unlisted " processing aid " on commercially sliced sandwich

meats. Processing aids are, in my view, an ingredient which should be

listed. Legally, processing aids are not ingredients, and do not have to

be listed. Can the processing aids affect our guts? You better believe

they can!

We could be incredibly detailed and dig into the precise semantics of

" the 2% rule. "

Or, we can use it as a short hand for " there can be unlisted crap in

any processed food that can make you really, really sick and/or keep you

from getting well, so your best bet is to make your own. "

It all depends on how seriously you take the requirement for fanatical

adherence to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

For myself, it's much like I understand the concept of having a kosher

kitchen. There's no " part kosher " to it.

Convenience is part of what made me sick in the first place. I consider

my health to be more important than convenience.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

[Guest guest]

At 11:34 AM 1/16/2010, you wrote:

> Question: Is the 2% label rule real or just a myth that we

perpetuate? I'm curious about this.

Here's what I found when I did a search:

http://www.kashrut.com/articles/LabelingLaw/

Finally, the reader will note that no mention has been made of an

exemption of an ingredient that is less than two per cent of the food.

Entrenched, somehow, in the public mind is a notion that anything less

than two per cent need not be labeled. That idea is at loggerheads with

the regulations. So where did the idea come from? Actually, there is a

source for a two per cent rule in the regulations. But it's very

different from what people think it is.

The two per cent rule plays a role in the following: all ingredients must

be labeled in order of predominance, by weight. The heaviest is first,

and so on. All ingredients that are less than two percent of the weight

of the product are freed from being placed in a specific order – that is,

order of predominance by weight. As long as the ingredients label writes:

" the following ingredients are present at less than 2% " or

" 1.5% " or so on, the ingredients can be in any order that the

manufacturer chooses.7

Liz

And, as I posted in the other thread,

And from the same website....

“Self-regulation” is the way many industries claim to police themselves.

A representative of the FDA readily acknowledged that self-regulation of

industries is the principal form in which the FDA assumes that labeling

regulations are being obeyed. Similarly, states may rely on the efforts

of competitors to whistle blow if a competitor is violating a regulation.

But that type of policing is more likely to take place when a product

makes a declaration that is not true – if a product calls itself low in

fat, for example, when it is actually quite high in fact. Crimes of

omission are more difficult to identify. Indeed, according to the Utah

specialist, only a small percentage of products on the supermarket

shelves adhere to the regulations.

Emphasis is not mine. But this is why, rather than finding " short

cuts, " I generally prefer to make my own stuff. THat way I know that

there is no cross-contamination or unwanted ingredients, processing aids,

or whatever.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

[Guest guest]

> > > Question: Is the 2% label rule real or just a

> > myth that we perpetuate? I'm curious about this.

I think that this was the original question. The answer is that there is NO " 2%

Rule " . The law clearly states that ALL ingredients, even those under 2% must be

listed. The reality is that with self-regulation, many, but not all,

manufacturers abuse the laws and don't declare all ingredients in their

products. Hence, the problems for people on SCD or strict gluten free diets,

those with severe food allergies and those trying to keep Kosher.

Liz

[Guest guest]

Cool, thanks for the input, everyone.

Please note that I asked this question because I think a myth--even in service

of our health--is still a lie. The SCD is great and I'm sure that the food

industry is replete with problems. We are clearly safest to cook our own. That

said, I simply wanted to know what we're basing our actions on--a law or the

abuse of a law. I'm glad we have some clarity now.

>

>

>

> > > > Question: Is the 2% label rule real or just a

> > > myth that we perpetuate? I'm curious about this.

>

> I think that this was the original question. The answer is that there is NO

" 2% Rule " . The law clearly states that ALL ingredients, even those under 2% must

be listed. The reality is that with self-regulation, many, but not all,

manufacturers abuse the laws and don't declare all ingredients in their

products. Hence, the problems for people on SCD or strict gluten free diets,

those with severe food allergies and those trying to keep Kosher.

>

> Liz

>

[Guest guest]

At 05:15 PM 1/16/2010, you wrote:

Please note that I asked this

question because I think a myth--even in service of our health--is still

a lie.

First -- a myth is not a lie. It is a usually traditional story of

ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view

of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural

phenomenon.

Second, the labeling laws have changed since Elaine first wrote Food

and the Gut Reaction, later called Breaking the Vicious

Cycle.

In 2001, when I began SCD, I was told of the 2% law. That was nine

years ago, and the amount of information readily available on the

web has increased exponentially.

If, in fact, the rules have changed, and the 2% rule no longer exists,

that's fine. But I think you'll still find some of us old-timers around

who reference it. That doesn't mean we're liars. It means we're

talking about what we were taught.

But given the way the current laws are so nearly unenforced, I think the

2% rule might as well still exist.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the info everyone! I didn't see the other thread about the " 2% rule "

before posting my question, so sorry for the repeat!

Tonight I'm going to have my first pre-made item on SCD...tomato sauce. Someone

has a letter saying it's okay, but I'm a little nervous. It will be going on my

first ever SCD pizza! Hopefully all will go well :-).

Holly Hurst

Crohn's

SCD 12/01/08

>

>

>

> > > > Question: Is the 2% label rule real or just a

> > > myth that we perpetuate? I'm curious about this.

>

> I think that this was the original question. The answer is that there is NO

" 2% Rule " . The law clearly states that ALL ingredients, even those under 2% must

be listed. The reality is that with self-regulation, many, but not all,

manufacturers abuse the laws and don't declare all ingredients in their

products. Hence, the problems for people on SCD or strict gluten free diets,

those with severe food allergies and those trying to keep Kosher.

>

> Liz

>

[Guest guest]

Some time back I found the rule at a FDA web site. Unfortunately, when I just

tried to find it again to provide a link, I didn't succeed. As you say, it isn't

an easy search to do.

Anyway, it is the second one that you show: they must list them all but under 2%

they don't need to be in order.

Tom

spookyhurst wrote:

>

>

> I have a question about the 2% rule in pre-made foods. I've heard:

>

> 1. A company does NOT have to list any ingredient under 2%

>

> and

>

> 2. A company HAS to list all ingredients under 2%, they just don't have

> to list them in order of greatest to smallest quantity.

>

> Which of these is correct? I haven't had any luck in googling (search

> terms are too common).

>

> Holly

> Crohn's

> SCD 12/01/08

>

>

[Guest guest]

Wizop Marilyn L. Alm wrote:

>

> I don't feel, however, that the processing of food has improved in those

> years -- I feel that processors are MORE rather than LESS likely to

> include junk in our food in order to maximize their profits.

Given the litigious nature of today's world, at least in the U.s., I'd think it

would be the other way around. Food companies would be more cautious these days

for fear of being sued.

> As a consequence, I consider the label on a food product to be the first

> step in determining whether something is SCD-safe or not.

That's how I approach the ingredients list. If it lists illegals, then it is

definitely out. If not, then it might be worth pursuing further.

Tom