Naming it, and the words that carry a meaning

The words that carry a meaning

A pickle, a relish and a sauerkraut are different products and the difference is not only size of cut. Kraut is fermented by definition, which means calling a vinegar-brined cabbage sauerkraut describes a process that did not happen. That is the error most likely to be noticed by somebody who knows the category, which is usually a buyer rather than a regulator.

What this means for a brand

A brand name can be almost anything. What it cannot do is stand in for the statement of identity, which has to say what the product actually is. The two sit in different places on the same label, and conflating them is how a clever name ends up being the only description of a jar.

Fermented is the word to be careful with

Fermented has become a selling word, which creates pressure to use it on products that were not fermented. The distinction is real, it is visible to anybody who knows the craft, and the published guidance treats the two processes separately throughout, including with separate problem tables.

The practical risk

The realistic consequence is not prosecution, it is a buyer asking a question you cannot answer at the point you least want a delay. A print run is usually already paid for by the time anybody asks.

The cheap insurance is to describe the product plainly somewhere on the label even where a brand name is doing the selling. A jar that says what it is has nothing to be caught out on, and the people who care about the distinction are the ones most likely to buy a second jar.

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