Wednesday, March 30, 2011

A Guide to "Organic" and Other Food Labels

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The Word "Organic"

This is the biggie among food labels, and one of the most controversial. It's a word that sounds black and white—either it grew up naturally and was brought to you without chemicals, hormones, pesticides, or radiation, or it didn't, you'd think. But under federal law, any product with "organic" anywhere on its packaging or display materials must contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients.

To qualify as organic, those ingredients can't contain, or be produced with, any of the following: chemical, additives, synthetics, pesticides, or genetically engineered substances. That's the stated law, but, as you might imagine, those criteria can be subject to interpretation, and the USDA's regulation of the "organic" label has come under questioning. Photo by Tim Psych.

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