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Cracking Down on Organic Food Fraud

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Cracking Down on Organic Food Fraud

_http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/2/23/cracking-down-on

-organic-food-fraud.aspx_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/2/23/cracking-down-on-o\

rganic-food-fraud.aspx)

 

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_

(http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/organic-food-fraud-4702040\

3)

 

 

* _Journal of Environmental Quality January 4, 2008; 37:182-185 (Free

Full Text Article)_ (http://jeq.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/37/1/182)

 

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_

(http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/More-Deception-by-Wal-Mart-With-Organic-\

Foods-15099.aspx) .

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_

(http://www.mercola.com/2003/may/21/organic_food.htm) 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_

(http://www.mercola.com/blog/2005/nov/10/any_difference_between_organic_pasteuri\

zed_milk) , 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_

(http://www.mercola.com/2006/aug/17/how_to_get_inexpensive_organic_locally-grown\

_vegetab

les.htm) .

_http://www.mercola.com/2006/aug/17/how_to_get_inexpensive_organic_locally-grown\

_vegetables.htm_

(http://www.mercola.com/2006/aug/17/how_to_get_inexpensive_organic_locally-grown\

_vegetables.htm)

Always remember, just because someone slaps an organic label on a food

product, that label does not somehow magically transform _a junk food_

(http://www.mercola.com/2005/jun/4/junk_food_usa.htm) into a health food.

“Organicâ€

sugar and “all-natural†processed foods are every bit as pernicious to your

health as conventional sugar and _processed foods_

(http://www.mercola.com/2005/aug/23/is_processed_food_really.htm) .

 

 

 

Related Articles:

 

_More Organic Food Deception by Wal-Mart_

(http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/More-Deception-by-Wal-Mart-With-Organic-\

Foods-15099.aspx)

_http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/More-Deception-by-Wal-Mart-With-Organi

c-Foods-15099.aspx_

(http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/More-Deception-by-Wal-Mart-With-Organic-\

Foods-15099.aspx)

 

_You Are Being Ripped Off by Much of the ''Organic'' Food You Are Buying_

(http://www.mercola.com/2006/oct/12/you-are-being-ripped-off-by-much-of-the-orga\

n

ic-food-you-are-buying.htm)

_http://www.mercola.com/2006/oct/12/you-are-being-ripped-off-by-much-of-the-or

ganic-food-you-are-buying.htm_

(http://www.mercola.com/2006/oct/12/you-are-being-ripped-off-by-much-of-the-orga\

nic-food-you-are-buying.htm)

 

_The Backlash Against the Eat-Local Movement_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/08/21/the-backlash-agai\

nst-the-eat-local-movement.as

px)

_http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/08/21/the-backlash-ag

ainst-the-eat-local-movement.aspx_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/08/21/the-backlash-agai\

nst-the-eat-local-movement.aspx)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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