What is 'organic' food?
Broadcast: October 17, 2000 | Reporters: Jacquie Perrin, Erica Johnson, Jim Nunn
Producers: Ines Colabrese, Carmel Smyth, George Prodanou
Researchers: Cindy Bahadur, Jenny Wells
Products carrying the 'certified organic' label must go through a rigorous process to qualify
Organics is the fastest growing sector in the Canadian food industry. A decade ago, organic food made up less than one per cent of the grocery business in this country.
The reasons more and more people are turning to organics are linked to the public fears about genetically modified foods, irradiation and the antibiotics fed to animals. Marketplace devoted the entire show on October 17 to take a look at this industry.
The first question we asked was what does the word "organic" really mean?
For many of us, organic food brings images to mind of a few rotting apples on a grocery store shelf.
We went to the annual Feast of Fields to find out what "organic" means today. The Feast of Fields is an annual fundraising event - $100 a person - that's intended to promote organic food.
Chefs, farmers and the paying public turn out to sample a huge variety of organic produce - and recipes that are organic from the ground up.
It's not just fruits and vegetables these days that carry the organic label. There's organic milk, organic cheese and organic butter. There are even organic processed foods - including cereals, pastas and even corn chips.
Organic produce is no longer confined to specialty shops or remote counters in supermarkets.
If you thought that organic means pesticide-free, you may be surprised to find that's not true. Pesticides are so pervasive in the air and in our environment that no crop can be declared totally free of synthetic chemcials.
If you buy poultry that's labelled as free-range, you cannot assume that it is also organic. The same holds true for the word "natural."
Just because the label says 'free range,' doesn't necessarily make the product 'organic'
"It might be that the farmer is not using hormones and not using any insecticides on the animals, but the feed itself might not be certified organic or it may be conventional feed," said Gary Lean, an independent organic inspector Marketplace consulted.
Lean said there are no standards for use of the word "natural" in farm products. The only way to be sure is to know the farmer.
Organic products, though, do have to meet certain standards. Those that do, will carry a sticker on the packaging that says "Certified Organic."
No product can carry that label without first being inspected. The product has to meet a comprehensive set of rules overseen by the Canadian General Standards Board. The standards are voluntary - except in Quebec, where you can expect to pay large fines if you're caught misrepresenting your products.
To qualify as certified organic, a field of corn, for example, would have to:
be free of commercial fertilizers for three years
be free of herbicides for three years
seed would not be from genetically modified seed
include a buffer zone between organic plants and non-organic plants
Another way to tell whether a field of corn may be organic: the weeds. Lean told us the absence of herbicides means there's virtually no defence against weeds.
Organic farmers can, though, use some herbicides - but only if they don't build up on the fruit or in the body. Sulphur is used on some apple orchards. Synthetic pesticides are forbidden.
Organic crops, like apples, can be sprayed with material that does not build up on the fruit, such as sulphur
The standards were drawn up in June of 1999. They were meant to set out comprehensive guidelines for the organic food industry. But they also concede that there is little that can be done to ensure that food on the shelves is totally free from herbicides or pesticides.
"By themselves, organic practices can not ensure that organic products are entirely free of residues of prohibited substances and other contaminants, since exposure to such compounds from the atmosphere, soil, groundwater and other sources may be well beyond the control of the operator." (introduction to General Principles of Organic Production, Canadian General Standards Board, June, 1999)
To be certified as an organic grower, a farmer has to pay several hundred dollars a year. Much of that money goes to the inspectors who make sure the organic standards are met. The inspectors might give a couple of days' notice of a visit - or a couple of hours.
The final aspect of the "certified organic" process is the paper trail. Organic farmers are required to keep detailed records.
The application process is lengthy. The application form from the Organic Crop Producers & Processors of Ontario (one of the companies that provides inspection services for organic farmers) is quite complex.
"In the end, for a full certification process," food inspector Gary Lean told us, "we should be able to go from the consumer purchasing the product back to the field or number of fields that a product came from."
