Cracking Down on Organic Food Fraud
The Daily Green
February 5, 2008

Organic foods are a $16 billion a year business, and some are
concerned that Department of Agriculture standards and independent
third-party verification may be insufficient to prevent fraud.

But Spanish scientists have developed a method of using "nitrogen
isotopic discrimination" to determine if non-organic, synthetic
fertilizers were used on plants. Since organic fertilizers have
nitrogen isotopes that differ from synthetic fertilizers, it is
possible to distinguish produce grown using the two different methods.

USDA organic standards are widely considered to be trustworthy,
because independent third-party assessors check on farm practices. The
USDA recently cracked down on at least one large dairy that let its
standards lapse.

Sources:
The Daily Green February 5, 2008
Journal of Environmental Quality January 4, 2008; 37:182-185 (Free
Full Text Article)

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Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Greenwashing, the practice of branding a conventionally grown or
processed food as natural or organic, is becoming a pervasive problem.
If the label works, then the food inside does not actually have to be
organic; an impression of organic-ness is all that is required to
partake in the organic goldmine.

Since true organic produce should be grown without synthetic or
otherwise toxic fertilizers, being able to introduce a testing
procedure that can produce reliable and verifiable results would go a
long way to ensure that you're actually getting what you believe
you're paying for. Unfortunately, as this article states, it may take
a while before this method can be put to use on a wide scale, due to
costs.

Until then, your best bet is still to be an informed consumer, if not
a bit of a sleuth, and do your homework before buying.

Think About It - Does the Label Make Sense?

I've already warned readers about the substandard and distorted image
of organic foods promoted by companies such as Wal-Mart. Last year,
fraud investigators found Wal-Mart guilty of deceptive organic
labeling on several products, including Silk Soy Milk and Florida
Crystals Natural Sugar, as well as various fresh produce items.

Some advertising experts have expressed the belief that the organic
trend may soon be coming to an end, especially with the wake-up call
of products like NATURAL Cheetos hitting grocery store shelves.

The question you need to ask yourself is this: Does the label really
make sense? Is it possible for Cheetos to be processed and still be
considered a natural health food?

Believe me, the day you see "Organic Cheetos" in your grocery store
you can kiss the value of the term "organic" goodbye. It will be
absolutely worthless as a marker of healthy food, and merely serve as
another manipulation tool to deceive the public and take more money
from you for unhealthy products.

Other major corporations like Dean Foods, General Mills, Unilever,
Mars, Kraft and Kellogg have also jumped in to reap some of the fat
margins that are present in organic foods, further distorting the real
meaning of organic, and all-natural.

If You Can't Trust Them, Avoid Them

The trend of organic fraud may linger for years before enough
consumers begin to demand to know more about the food products they
buy.

Until then, your only solution is to seek out LOCAL suppliers of
healthy food where you can actually get to know the people who are
growing your food. A good start is to check out some of the suppliers
I mentioned in my previous article, How to Get Inexpensive, Organic,
Locally-Grown Vegetables.

Always remember, just because someone slaps an organic label on a food
product, that label does not somehow magically transform a junk food
into a health food. "Organic" sugar and "all-natural" processed foods
are every bit as pernicious to your health as conventional sugar and
processed foods.

Related Articles:
More Organic Food Deception by Wal-Mart
You Are Being Ripped Off by Much of the ''Organic'' Food You Are
Buying
The Backlash Against the Eat-Local Movement

www.mercola.com