” Organic Labeling “
” The Dirty Dozen “
” The Clean 15 “
The info printed below comes directly from the USDA site
Organic Labeling Standards
The rules for Labeling organic retail products, both raw and processed, are addressed under the “Product Composition” section of the USDA organic regulations. The regulations cover the wording allowed on both the front panel and the information panel of a packaged product.
Principal display panel: portion of the package most likely to be seen by customers at the time of purchase. Your certifying agent will review and approve each of your product labels to ensure compliance.
Information panel: includes includes ingredient statement (list of ingredients contained in a product, from highest to lowest percentage of final product) and other product information.
The four categories of Labeling based on product composition & the Labeling specifications for each are summarized below:
“100 percent organic”
“100 percent organic” can be used to label any product that contains 100 percent organic ingredients (excluding salt and water, which are considered natural). Most raw, unprocessed farm products can be designated “100 percent organic.” Likewise, many value-added farm products that have no added ingredients—such as grain flours, rolled oats, etc.—can also be labeled “100 percent organic.”
Principal display panel: May include USDA organic seal and/or 100 percent organic claim.
Information Panel: Must identify organic ingredients (e.g., organic dill) or via asterisk or other mark.
“Organic”
“Organic” can be used to label any product that contains a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients (excluding salt and water). Up to 5 percent of the ingredients may be nonorganic agricultural products that are not commercially available as organic and/or nonagricultural products that are on the National List.1
Principal display panel: May include USDA organic seal and/or organic claim.
Information Panel: Must identify organic ingredients (e.g., organic dill) or via asterisk or other mark.
“Made with Organic ______”
“Made with Organic ______” can be used to label a product that contains at least 70 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding salt and water). There are a number of detailed constraints regarding the ingredients that comprise the nonorganic portion.
Principal display panel: May state “made with organic (insert up to three ingredients or ingredient categories).” Must not include USDA organic seal anywhere, represent finished product as organic, or state “made with organic ingredients.”
Information Panel: Must identify organic ingredients (e.g., organic dill) or via asterisk or other mark.
Specific Ingredient Listings
The specific organic ingredients may be listed in the ingredient statement of products containing less than 70 percent organic contents—for example, “Ingredients: water, barley, beans, organic tomatoes, salt.”
Principal display panel: Must not include USDA organic seal anywhere or the word “organic” on principal display panel.
Information Panel: May only list certified organic ingredients as organic in the ingredient list and the percentage of organic ingredients. Remaining ingredients are not required to follow the USDA organic regulations.
Exemptions & Exclusions
Producers who market less than $5,000 worth of organic products annually are not required to apply for organic certification. They must, however, comply with the organic production and handling requirements of the regulations, including recordkeeping (records must be kept for at least 3 years). The products from such noncertified operations cannot be used as organic ingredients in processed products produced by another operation; such noncertified products also are not allowed to display the USDA certified organic seal.
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Foods bearing the USDA Organic label, for example, are required to meet the legal definition of “organic,” and are subject to government oversight. But the Non-GMO Project is a private non-profit entity, and its third-party certification system is based on standards of its own design.
Organic food: Is it safer or more nutritious?
There is a growing body of evidence that shows some potential health benefits of organic foods when compared with conventionally grown foods. While these studies have shown differences in the food, there is limited information to draw conclusions about how these differences translate into overall health benefits.
Overall , higher nutrient content and higher Omega 3 fatty acid content is found in organic food .
Avoiding toxins and heavy metals and endocrine disruptors commonly found in non organic food might be the primary reason for choosing and insisting on organic food.
While I am an organic food advocate, and feel I am just touching the surface with my pro organic stance,
GMO science is here to stay. I don’t want to be part of food science experiments hut wonderful things have come out of the science like affordable manufactured Insulin. I’m certain the science will be needed to combat the ravages of climate change. I just pray that enough testing is allowed to proceed ensuring human safety. My imagination and mind reel from potentially allowing unproven science projects to rapidly multiply. Yes , Covid Vaccines come to mind . A quick scientific look into worldwide seed supply and big business manipulations confirm my fear. Nuff said.
Cost ? If organic prices are 10-20% more than similar GMO food , I always buy organic. If the food is on the dirty dozen list, I only buy organic . Many of my favorite foods are on this list that are heavily sprayed with pesticides. Pesticides . poisons and toxins can assist in creating a hormone imbalance. Weight gain can add to the worries.
If your hormones become imbalanced ,your organs might not work as well. This should be of concern to all. Personally, I have done enough reading and research to ultimately not trust big corporations to be my “ toxins “ watchdog .
Vulnerable groups—including pregnant women, young children, the elderly and people suffering from allergies. These groups may benefit the most from choosing organically produced foods.
Organic food is always the food of choice for “ taste “ by thousand’s of chefs worldwide. There is little room for argument there.
Organic food has more phytonutrients and flavonoids than GMO produce but it is hard to prove that it is always packed with more nutrients. Common sense allows me
to use other reasoning.
The Dirty Dozen
According to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that analyzes the results of government pesticide testing in the U.S., the following fruits and vegetables have the highest pesticide levels so are best to buy as organic. Hopefully you know all about this !
Fruits and “veggies” where the organic label matters most
- Apples
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Celery
- Potatoes
- Grapes
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Kale/Collard Greens
- Summer Squash
- Nectarines (imported)
- Peaches
- Spinach
- Strawberries
- Hot Peppers
The Dirty Dozen are 12 fruits and vegetables that are most heavily treated with chemicals such as pesticides and insecticides.
Maybe we don’t know exactly how these chemicals will impact our health but we certainly know chemicals are present when we buy these non-organic varieties of food.
The Clean 15
Known as the “Clean 15”, these conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables are generally low in pesticides.
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These are fruits and vegetables that you don’t need to buy organic. If they only cost 20% more for organic, I will spring for them.
The organic debate is somewhat inconclusive. BUT, these are actionable buying decisions you can make.
And please try to always
buy grass fed meat, organic free range eggs, and organic dairy if you can afford to.
QUOTES
If organic farming is the natural way, shouldn’t organic produce just be called “produce” and make the pesticide-laden stuff take the burden of an adjective?
Ymber Delecto
We now eat at the end of a very long and opaque food chain. Food comes to us ready-made in packages that obscure as much information as they reveal.
Michael Pollan
The first step in reforming appetite is going from processed food to real food. Then, if you can afford organic or grass-fed, fantastic. But the first step is moving from processed industrial food to the real thing.
Michael Pollan
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