Organic In Style

In my search for organic products, I continue to see this symbol  - USDA Organic.  Having no idea what this means, I realize that I need to do some research.  A little background first: in 1990 the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 was passed.  This Act establishes “national standards governing the marketing of certain agriculteral products as organically produced products” and “assures consumers that organically produced products meet a consistant standard.”  It is the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that regulates these standards. 

The USDA has a program called the National Organic Program, or NOP, which has a set of guidelines it uses to determine if food can be considered organic.  As part of these guidelines, the NOP published a list of pesticides and chemicals that it considers safe as well as those that are not to be used in the growth and production of organic products.  Farms and operations (except for those whose sales are less than $5,000) that produce organic products must be certified by the USDA.  That is where this label comes in. 

In order to use the USDA Certified seal, products must adhere to the following:

• The seal can not be used on products that are produced by using excluded methods, sewage sludge, or ionizing radiation.
• If a product is labeled as 100 percent organic, it must contain only organically produced ingredients.
• If a product is labeled as “organic” at least 95 percent of its ingredients must be organically produced.  The remaining ingredients must be on the approved National List. 
• If a product contains at least 70 percent organic ingredients, it can use the term “made with organic ingredients” on its label.  The USDA Seal cannot be used on these packages. 
• If products are made with less than 70 percent organic ingredients, they cannot use an organic label at all. 

Just because an item has this seal, it does not mean that it is necessarily healthy or even more nutritious than other products.  The USDA tries to set limits on the amount of pesticides that can be used in growing foods, but they make no recommendations regarding organic vs. nonorganic.  So the USDA Certified seal doesn’t mean the product is perfect or that it is even better for you, but if you’re trying to find organic products, it is a good place to start. 

Source:  United States Department of Agriculture website.  www.ams.usda.gov.