How to Read Organic Labels

The Organic Food Production Act of 1990 created the National Organic Program (NOP). The USDA enforces organic standards through this act. Any product that claims to be organic must be manufactured and handled according to specific NOP requirements. Below is information about reading organic food labels.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. The word "organic" means: Crops grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, or sewage sludge. Animals raised without cloning, antibiotics and growth hormones with 100% organic feed or free ranged feeding for at least a year. Packaged food processed without irradiation and cannot contain a large range of food additives contained in most conventional packaged food. Food produced without the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s).

2. 100% Organic: Product must contain 100 percent organic ingredients.

3. Organic: At least 95 percent of ingredients are organically produced.

4. Made with Organic Ingredients: At least 70 percent of ingredients are organic. The remaining 30 percent must come from the USDA’s approved list.

5. Free-range: U.S. government standards are weak in this area as the rule states that outdoor access must be made available for “an undetermined period each day.”

6. Natural: Not necessarily organic. USDA defines “natural” only for meat and poultry products as, “not containing any artificial flavoring, colors, chemical preservatives, or synthetic ingredients.” Aside from it's use for meat and poultry products, this term is meaningless. It is largely over used on product packaging to cash in on the growing organic market.

[NaturalRemedies]

on 2/16/2009 Great tips to read organic food labels!

[TaxGuru]

on 2/16/2009 Great consumer info to read organic labels.