IS IT OR ISN'T IT? A DEFINING QUESTION

RAMONA G. FLOOD

If you don't naturally correlate the terms "natural" or "organic" with health and beauty care products, you're not alone.

The Food and Drug Administration has set no standards for what constitutes such products. Consequently, whether or not a particular item's ingredients make it a "natural product" is largely a matter of interpretation.

Brad Stone, an FDA spokesman, said that since there is no standard definition for natural cosmetics, it's hard for FDA to police the use of the term. FDA is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on defining the term "organic" for food and cosmetics, Stone said, but noted that defining "natural" is another story.

" 'Natural' is a tough one," he said. "It tends to be much more of a subjective term."

Peter Anderson, marketing director at Arizona Naturals, Phoenix, a manufacturer of private-label body and bath products, as well as its own line, concurred: "There is no real way to define natural. There is no consistency and no regulation."

The same holds true for herbal vitamins and homeopathic remedies. That doesn't mean, however, that retailers shouldn't think twice about stocking these products.

Said Dan Van Zant, director of health and beauty care at Ray's Food Place, Brookings, Ore., "You have to be highly selective about putting these products in stores because there is no FDA standard of what constitutes all-natural." According to Van Zant, Ray's sent a proposed new vitamin line to an independent testing lab to have the vitamins tested for dissolution, disintegration and absorbency rates before the chain took them on. The new line passed with flying colors, except for the calcium, which didn't disintegrate properly, Van Zant said.

Absence of animal testing and environmentally friendly packaging are two key buzzwords in the burgeoning natural care personal products industry.

"We call our products 'nature-inspired,' " said Carol Smith, vice president of marketing at Cosmetic Group Labs -- Luzier, Kansas City, Mo. The company's Body and Bath products are gentle, nonirritating and are not tested on animals, Smith said. At the same time, "we use as [few] preservatives as possible," she added.

Luzier's products are packaged simply, with no boxes or promotional clutter, and are as recyclable as possible. Though they're not dye-free, they still maintain a natural image, Smith said.