Clean Label Trends: A Global Perspective

By Julie Holt, Global Advisory Services Director

Consumer interest in clean labels is strong and growing worldwide. Consumers want to know what is in their food, how it is made, and its environmental and health impacts. Younger consumers especially value ethical sourcing and the story behind their food.

Clean labels are also being used to navigate state additive bans and signal a shift toward healthier products. Today’s food and beverage label is more than just an ingredient list—it conveys values and relevance.

What Clean Label Means

While the term “clean label” has existed for about fifteen years, there is no legal definition from global regulatory bodies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) or Codex, and the term remains marketing driven.

Clean labels originally focused on health and additive removal, but now include simple and recognizable ingredients, minimal processing, organic certification and even nutritional attributes such as reduced sugar or added fiber.

Regulatory and Public Health Drivers

The recent focus on clean labels in the United States (US) centers on artificial food dyes, with government actions connecting such ingredients to negative health implications. The Trump Administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative aims to shape public health and the food industry. One of most recognizable MAHA objectives is the removal of synthetic, petroleum-based food dyes from the US food supply chain.

The push for the removal of certain additives has been echoed by state legislation in California, Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, Iowa and Idaho, where legislators seek to prohibit the use of certain additives such as sweeteners, preservatives and colors. Texas now requires a warning label on foods that contain any one of 40+ additives that have been deemed unhealthy as part of the Make Texas Healthy Again initiative.

While consumers’ interest and regulatory pressure for clean labels are driving forces in the food industry, public health actions to reduce the incidences of non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer are also influencing labels. Brazil, Denmark and the United Kingdom are among 32 countries who have recently announced initiatives to reduce obesity and help consumers make better dietary choices. Other countries are such as Australia and New Zealand are making their existing public health platforms more robust. These types of initiatives include helping consumers make more informed food choices and fostering label transparency, with a goal to improve public health and minimize diet-related disease.

Food Label Trends by Region

Globally, 58% of consumers value transparency in products, and health benefits continue to influence food purchases.  Currently Australia has the greatest share of product launches featuring clean label. It is estimated that nearly 50% of new product launched in Australia this year have clean label claims.

The phrase “additive removal” has become popular in the Middle East and African markets, where many categories of additives such as preservatives are seen as undesirable.

Implications for Food and Beverage Manufacturers

For food and beverage manufacturers, the clean label market expectations have triggered product reformulations and adjustments to reduce ingredients or substitute perceived healthier options. Many manufacturers are attempting to simplify labels to provide transparency and reduce confusion or label fatigue for consumers. Even as consumers chose simplicity, they are asking for labels that provide information they value, such as environmental impact or organic status.

Notably with the global shift away from UPFs (ultra-processed foods), it is likely that clean labeling will evolve further to reflect a non-UPF status. The US federal government announced plans to formally define the term UPF and perhaps permit it as a label claim in future. The FDA and US Department of Agriculture are currently seeking public input on the definition through September 23, 2025.

Next Steps in Food Industry Innovation

FoodChain ID offers innovative AI tools to help food and beverage manufacturers support clean label attributes and claims both now and as regulations evolve ‒ for global reformulations and accelerated “lift and launch” activities.

• As an example, a food company was reformulating and wished to remove a thickening agent and replace it with another less processed or more universally acceptable ingredient. FoodChain ID AI capabilities, based on industry expertise and regulatory coverage in over 200 markets, quickly identified a full list of approved ingredients with thickening functionality.

FoodChain ID AI tools compile relevant information such as any use level restrictions, synonyms, regulatory citations and source documents. Our customers find that FoodChain ID AI delivers information much faster than performing a traditional multi-ingredient, multi-country search.

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About the Author

Julie Holt is a subject matter expert in the areas of food and beverage, additives, and regulatory strategy. She has beverage industry expertise and currently provides consulting support across multiple beverage categories. Ms. Holt has more than 25+ years of regulatory experience in the food and food ingredients industries and managed her own advisory firm, Scientific & Regulatory Solutions LLC, prior to joining FoodChain ID. As a consultant, Julie supported several food and beverage clients including a Fortune 50 company. Julie has provided global regulatory knowledge covering more than 200 countries.