Can You Trust Organic Food?

Often I get asked how we can be sure what we’re buying is really organic. Since many of you will have set goals to eat better in 2013, I thought this would be a helpful bit of information to share.

Aside from the issue of whether organic food has more nutrients than conventionally grown food, my concern has always been the toxins that organic food does not contain. And, of course, we should be be assured that we are getting what we are paying for. Here is a good guide for trusting organic labels by Barbara H. Peterson.

Reading ‘Organic’ labeling: 
*If a product is labeled ‘100% Organic’, then it is supposed to contain nothing but organic ingredients and processing aids that are organically produced.*Products labeled ‘Certified Organic’ must contain 95% organic ingredients: Up to 5 percent of the ingredients may be nonagricultural substances. If not commercially available in organic form, minor ingredients i.e spices, flavors, colorings, oils, vitamins, minerals, accessory nutrients, incidental food additives can be nonorganic but must not be produced using the excluded methods i.e [genetically modified organisms GMOs], sewage sludge, or ionizing radiation.

*Products labeled 70-95% Organic or ‘Made with Organic Ingredients’, can contain the kitchen sink in the 5-30% of ingredients that are not organic. They can be grown with pesticides, but without the sewage sludge, and cannot be irradiated or GMOs.

*Products labeled 70% Organic or ‘Contains Organic Ingredients’, can contain the kitchen sink along with the pesticides, sewage sludge, irradiation, and GMOs.

Future posts will focus on GMO and irradiation in our foods.

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