Reading food labels

With the flood of products in the marketplace labeled as natural, organic, certified organic and made with organic ingredients, it’s hard to know a grain-fed turkey from your pesticide-free apple. Describing a product as ‘organic’ is a valuable marketing tool in today’s consumer market. However, many of us don’t stop to consider what it actually means on the way to the check-out counter.

The organics industry in Canada has been growing at a rate of 15 to 20% a year for the past decade, representing a growing, largely consumer-driven sector of the global food industry. Currently, multiple standards are used to certify products as organic in Canada, which often leads to confusion and mistrust on the part of the savvy consumer.

In December 2006, the federal government announced a new standard of regulations for organic foods. The Canada Organics logo, expected to be phased in over a two year period, requires certification to a national organic standard in regards to the principles and management practices covering every aspect of food production from agricultural practices and processing to labeling and packaging.

In accordance with the national organic standard, any product labeled ‘organic’ or similarly termed must have 95% or more of its ingredients, excluding water and salt, derived from certified sources of organic production. Any product that contains between 70% and 95% certified organic ingredients, excluding water and salt, is permitted only to refer to the actual percentage quantity (by mass or fluid volume) of ingredients that have been derived from certified sources of organic production. Therefore, if you see a product that is labeled as containing 75% organic ingredients, under Canadian certification standards it means that 75% of its ingredients are derived using organic production methods. In addition, any product that contains less than 70% organic ingredients is only permitted to list the particular organic ingredients it contains.

At the end of the two-year phase-in period, it will be mandatory for all organic products to be certified for national and international trade.The principles of organic production as outlined by the Canadian General Standards Board include: protection of the environment (minimization of soil degradation and erosion, pollution reduction, optimizing biological productivity and promoting long-term soil fertility), recycling of materials and resources to the greatest extent possible within the enterprise,  providing attentive care to promote the health and behavioural needs of livestock, preparation of products that emphasizes careful processing and handling methods in order to maintain the organic integrity and vital qualities of the products at all stages of production, and reliance on renewable resources in locally organized agricultural systems.

Elsewhere in the world, the US, the EU and Japan have comprehensive organic legislation, and the term ‘organic’ may be used only by certified producers. Supervision of organic certification bodies is handled at the national level in EU countries. In the US, the National Organic Program (NOP) restricts the use of the term ‘organic’ to certified organic producers. Certification is handled by state, non-profit and private agencies that have been approved by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

What about products labeled as ‘natural?’ The Canadian Food Inspection Agency states that references to nature or natural cannot contain ingredients that have been significantly altered from original physical, chemical or biological state. This includes such changes as the removal of caffeine. A ‘natural’ food or product must not contain any added vitamins, mineral nutrients, artificial flavouring agent or food additives.