Green Jersey

“Natural” pizza contest

The Jersey Bites blog is offering a free pizza in its weekly giveaway. The pie to be awarded is “The Natural,” new from Pizza Hut.

According to Jersey Bites, a site we love, this is the first “natural” pizza to be offered by a major chain. It apparently contains no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, has a multi-grain crust and can be amended with a variety of “natural” toppings. Its sauce is made from organic tomatoes and its mozzarella cheese, one more time, is au-naturale.

The crust has the stamp of approval of the Whole Grains Council, a consumer advocacy site whose board is chaired by a man who works for Frito-Lay.

The pizza is packaged in boxes made from 75 percent recycled material, which is great news, but left us wondering about the recycled content of the rest of the chain’s containers.

We’re betting this is a good-tasting pizza whose ingredients are a tier above Pizza Hut’s norm. But the term “natural,” when it comes to foods, is open to debate. The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t defined it and food companies can take it to mean pretty much whatever they want. Most natural foods aren’t government-regulated beyond the rules that apply to all foods, according to the Food Marketing Institute.

Food for thought.