New USDA Seal Makes Identifying Organic Foods Easier
Healthy Child Healthy World
Last Updated: Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Some parents switch to organic foods for their kids' sake, because they want to provide them with healthy meals and snacks. But there are a good number of people who ask: How can I know that a food labeled "organic" truly is organic? And what does "organic" really mean, anyway?
Now, a shiny new green-and-white "USDA Organic Seal" offers a uniform response and has the full force of the government behind it. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program unveiled the new label on October 21, 2002, along with required language for product labels that will tell shoppers just how much of the contents in a product was organically grown and produced.
From now on, any organic labeling of a food package means that the food is grown, processed and handled according to national organic standards that are regulated by the USDA. These standards ensure that organic food is produced using renewable resources and emphasizes the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality. Organic foods cannot be produced with most conventional pesticides; petroleum-based fertilizers or sewage sludge-based fertilizers; antibiotics, growth hormones, genetic engineering or irradiation.
Farmers and food companies found to mislabel their products as organic will be subject to a $10,000 fine.
Before the new national organic standards were put in place, organic food producers followed production practices outlined by their third-party organic certifier—that is, one of 40 nonprofit organizations, state agencies and private companies. With so many certifiers across the country, organic production was not uniform across the country. Fruits and vegetables from California could be grown differently than Texas' produce.
While third-party agencies will continue to certify organic producers, they will now all do so using the same set of national rules. To ensure that there is consistency, the government requires that certifiers receive accreditation from the USDA.
What's in the label?
The "USDA Organic" seal (below) appears on products that are at least 95 percent organic. The seal can be used on single-ingredient foods, such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat and eggs, as well as multi-ingredient food products containing at least 95% organic ingredients. The seal may also be placed on the sign above the produce display. Use of the seal is voluntary.
The wording on food labels must adhere to USDA guidelines, as follows:
100% Organic will only be used on products that contain 100 percent organic ingredients. The packaging may carry the USDA Organic seal.
Organic on a food package will indicate that the product contains 95-100 percent organic ingredients. The packaging may carry the USDA Organic seal.
Made with organic (ingredient) (up to three organic ingredients can be listed on the package front) can be used on products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients.
Organic ingredients can be listed on side panel, with no organic claims on package front, if the product has less than 70 percent organic content.
The name and address of the government-accredited organic certifier must appear on all packaged products that use organic ingredients.
The USDA warns that the terms "natural" and "organic" should not be confused. Only those products with the approved label should be considered organic, though other honest claims such as free-range and hormone-free can still appear on labels.
Resources:
For information on organic and other foods, see: Food News, Environmental Working Group Organic Consumers Association
For Information on eco-labels used on food and other products, see: The Consumers Union Guide to Environmental Labels
See also:
Organic Foods Really Do Contain Less Pesticide Residue, Consumers Union Finds
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