Fall behind refers to the defects or foreign materials that may be present in food products. The Food Defect Levels Handbook by the FDA lists several types of defects, including:
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Economic Adulteration: Intentional failure to remove inedible materials from the finished product, or the intentional addition or substitution of cheaper food or ingredient to a product.
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Extraneous Materials: Any foreign matter in a product associated with objectionable conditions or practices in production, storage, or distribution. Includes objectionable matter contributed by insects, rodents, and birds; decomposed material; and miscellaneous matter such as sand, soil, glass, rust, or other foreign substances.
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Foreign Matter: Includes objectionable matter such as sticks, stones, burlap bagging, cigarette butts, etc. Also includes the valueless parts of the raw plant material, such as stems.
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Gummy: In fruits, consists of the bacterial breakdown of the product and the formation of lactic acid and subsequent sour taste.
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Water Insoluble Inorganic Matter: A contaminant of the finished product that consists of fine grit that originates from the sand, dirt, and stones that contaminate the raw agricultural product at the time of harvest.
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Whole or Equivalent Insect: A whole insect, separate head, or body portions with head attached.
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Worthless: Defect source: Insects, insect excreta, & mold - preharvest and/or post-harvest and/or processing, Sour & worthless - preharvest, Dirt - harvest.
On the other hand, food labels provide information about the ingredients used in the product. According to Better Health Channel, ingredients are listed on products in descending order by weight so that the first ingredient listed is always present in the largest amount. If an ingredient makes up less than 5% of the food, it does not have to be listed. Some ingredients used in foods are called ‘compound ingredients’. These are ingredients made by a mixture of other ingredients. For example, chocolate (cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar) or pasta (flour, egg, water). If a compound ingredient makes up less than 5% of the product, it can just be listed as the compound ingredient rather than all of its own ingredients.
It is important to note that some food and beverage packaging includes terms that may try to convince the consumer the food is healthy. The National Institute on Aging warns that this type of labeling may have little to do with how nutritious the food is. For example, "light" products are processed to reduce either calories or fat, but some “light” products are simply watered down.
In summary, fall behind refers to defects or foreign materials that may be present in food products, while food labels provide information about the ingredients used in the product. It is important to read food labels carefully and be aware of misleading labeling terms.
