100% Pure vs Natural: How to Read a Superfood Label

Food labelling in the EU is governed by Regulation (EU) 1169/2011. It is strict about some things and silent about others. Knowing which is which lets you read a label in about fifteen seconds.

Words with legal weight

The ingredient list. Legally required, and ordered by weight, heaviest first. This is the single most informative line on any pack. A powder that lists one ingredient is one ingredient. A powder that lists five is a formula.

Organic. Regulated. Requires a certifying body code.

Country of origin. Mandatory in specific cases, optional in others, but if stated it must be true.

Net quantity, allergens, best-before, and the operator's address. All mandatory.

Words with no legal weight

Natural. Outside of specific contexts such as natural flavourings, this word carries no defined standard for a whole food. Almost anything plant-derived can be described this way.

Pure, premium, artisanal, traditional, authentic, superfood. None of these are defined terms. They may be accurate. They are simply not verifiable from the word alone.

Wild-harvested, ancestral, ethically sourced. Meaningful only if accompanied by something checkable, such as a named cooperative or a certification.

The three checks that matter

First, count the ingredients. If you are buying baobab powder, the list should read: baobab fruit pulp powder. Nothing else. Anti-caking agents, maltodextrin, rice flour and silicon dioxide are all legitimate additives, but they are also cheap volume. If they are there, you should know it.

Second, find the origin. Not the continent. The country, ideally the region. Sourced in Africa covers fifty-four countries and tells you nothing.

Third, find the batch or best-before date and think about the shelf life implied. A plant powder with a four-year best-before was probably not designed around freshness.

What a good label looks like

Short ingredient list. Named origin. A best-before that is close enough to feel like a real constraint. An identifiable operator with a real address. No health claim, because unauthorised health claims are illegal in the EU and a brand willing to break that rule is telling you something about the rest of its practices.

The best labels are boring. That is the point.

ATTOTE Original sources African superfoods and natural beverages from Cote d'Ivoire and West Africa, and ships across France and Europe.