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Peanut butter is a spread by definition, but when the word “spread” appears on the label of a jar of peanut butter, it is most likely meeting a legal requirement rather than serving as a simple descriptor.
Skippy, a well-known name in the peanut butter world, must label its natural peanut butter spread as such because it contains palm oil.
Regulations set by the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) state that, to be classified as peanut butter, a product must contain at least 90% peanuts – otherwise, the word “spread” must be included on the label.
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The Skippy website acknowledges this FDA regulation by stating: “Natural peanut butter spreads may include additional ingredients like palm oil or other oils, which are not hydrogenated. »
A selection of peanut butter jars are displayed on the shelves of a Publix supermarket in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group)
“These spreads can still contain at least 90% peanut, but include other ingredients that place them outside the standard definition of ‘peanut butter,'” the website notes.
The journey has not been the easiest for this regulation to be engraved in stone.
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In 1959, an FDA press release included the results of an investigation that showed that “products labeled ‘peanut butter’ had reduced their peanut content by up to 20 percent by replacing expensive peanuts and peanut oil with less expensive hydrogenated or vegetable oils,” according to the FDA.
When manufacturers asked whether it was possible to add glycerin to peanut butter to combat oil separation, the FDA responded by stating that “if glycerin could be added without adulterating the food, its addition should be prominently indicated on the product label.”
Three peanut butter brands fought a 20-week court battle with the FDA in 1961 to decide the new standard for peanut content in peanut butter. (iStock)
It became clear that customers liked the peanut butter that spread easily and contained a little sweetener.
So in 1961, the FDA proposed a new standard under which products consisting of 90 percent peanuts and additional sweeteners would be classified as peanut butter.
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Following this proposal, three peanut butter brands – Skippy, Jif and Peter Pan – began a twenty-week public hearing to discuss the percentage of peanuts that the new standard would dictate.
Peanut butter that contains less than 90 percent peanut must be labeled a “spread,” according to an FDA regulation. (iStock)
Ultimately, the U.S. Court of Appeals approved the FDA’s proposal to set standards for peanut butter “at not less than 90 percent peanut and not more than 55 percent fat,” according to the FDA.
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Today, as shoppers browse supermarket shelves filled with many variations of peanut butter, a closer look at the label could answer an important question: Is it really peanut butter?
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Skippy’s parent company, Hormel Foods, for comment.
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