Saturday, December 17, 2005

When is organic not really organic? | mountvernonnews.com

When is organic not really organic? | mountvernonnews.com:

"The current standard is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "USDA Organic" seal. Foods bearing this seal must be 95 percent organic and contain 100 percent natural ingredients to be considered organic.

Earlier this year, a federal appeals court ruled that even small amounts of non-organic ingredients such as vitamins, spices, citric acid and carbonation, do not belong in food labeled organic.

The original suit was brought by a Maine organic blueberry farmer. He sued the federal government in 2002 for allowing products containing what are considered synthetic product to be sold as organic. "