First it was guacamole with hardly any avocado in it. Then, Capri-Sun’s “All Natural” label came under-fire. Now it looks like “Real Kraft Cheese” isn’t so “real” after all. From Crain’s:

These products get their flavor from natural and synthetic ingredients that add up to processed cheese — made in a laboratory, not on a dairy farm…
Kraft, like many food makers, often walks a fine line with its marketing, testing the limits of federal labeling regulations that are often vague or confusing.

Nowhere is that confusion more evident than on products containing Kraft’s signature food: cheese…. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Three Cheese lists no varieties of cheese among its ingredients (a Kraft spokeswoman says the three cheeses are a processed cheddar blend, Monterey Jack and blue cheese), although it does list cheese culture, milk and sodium tripolyphosphate.Many products with the “Real Kraft Cheese” logo, like Easy Cheese, Oscar Mayer Cheesiest Cheese Dogs and Cheez Whiz dip, don’t list any natural cheese as an ingredient.”

Crain’s says calling Kraft’s processed-cheese product “real” cheese is legal.

“Calling processed-cheese ingredients real cheese is legal, because while the Food and Drug Administration regulates many food-related claims, defining terms like “low-fat” and “organic,” it doesn’t define other terms, including “natural” and “real.” That means manufacturers can use those terms as they see fit, as long as they do so “in a manner that is truthful and not misleading,” according to an FDA spokesman.”

As far as the guacamole and Capri-Sun go, Kraft has changed the labels on both. —MEGHANN MARCO

What is ‘Real Kraft Cheese’? [Crain’s Chicago Business] (Thanks, Kerry!)

PREVIOUSLY:
High-Fructose Corn Syrup No Longer “Natural”

Kraft Lawsuit: Capri Sun Isn’t “All Natural”

Kraft: Fake Guacamole Lawsuit

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