Every time I go to the grocery store I have every intention of buying organic food, but then I look at the prices and end up buying the non-organic version. I get confused with all the different labeling types-- free range, organic, made with organic ingredients, natural, etc. --that I'm not sure what I'm buying. After a little digging, I found out how to read the labels:
If the label says:
1. 100% Organic: by law this food contains only organically produced ingredients with no synthetics.
2. Organic: 95% of the ingredients are organic, and the remaining 5% can be non-organic and/or synthetic.
3. Made with Organic Ingredients: at least 70% of the ingredients are organic and are approved by the USDA.
4. Free ranging or Free Roaming: This label is a little misleading. While most of us have images of animals roaming free outdoors all day, this is hardly the case. Producers are required to let the animals outside once a day...could be 1 hour....could be 5 minutes. Purchase with caution!
5. Natural or All Natural: This is a meaningless label. It could mean the food contains no artificial colors, or anything really. Don't believe the hype!
6. Made with Real Fruit: This means it contains a small amount of real fruit. The same can be applied to whole grains.
7. Organic labels for seafood: The USDA has no set standards for labeling seafood, so this label can be applied at will.
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3 comments:
I love this post - it's so helpful! I have added a link on my newest blog entry and quoted your findings. I really like your idea of "Recipe Wednesdays" and I look forward to seeing them.
Sophia-Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked it. I'm going to try to keep adding informative articles, and fun ones (freebies & coupons).
The "all natural" stuff is very misleading. It is listed everywhere! However, I did find out the Boars Head "all natural" deli meats are pretty truthful, it means they have no added nitrates/preservatives.
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