Let’s face it. Organic food products are high in demand. You’ll see people walking down mall aisles looking for those organic food product sticker labels, a practice set by the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration.
To be called Organic Food, the food has to pass a standard set by the FDA. These standards include things like – it has to be grown without the use of chemicals or the livestock must be raised without the use of growth hormones and antibiotics. The list goes on.
What are some requirements for certified organic food?
The demand for organic food has risen and it’s caught the attention of the government. The government has stepped in to make sure everything goes according to plan by issuing certain criteria. Certified organic food involve more than not using pesticide and chemical fertilizer.
Every part of the process has to meet stringent criteria to earn the certification, starting from when the seeds start growing to how they’re handled, even until the time they reach the consumers.
Even all the suppliers involved in organic food must pass their appropriate requirements. These include the seed providers, farmers, food processing companies, food retailers, and restaurants.
Unfortunately, current requirements for certified organic food differ by country; what may qualify in one country won’t necessarily in another.
In a nutshell, the absence of synthetic products, chemical additives, pesticides, and growth hormones characterize the certification of organic food. Clearly, using sewer sludge as fertilizer will exempt a company from becoming a certified organic food provider.
Production Participants Have Standards, Too
The companies involved in the production must keep meticulous records of production, sales, and the equipment type involved. Moreover, they must have a clear separation border between the organic production areas from the rest of the plant.
As mentioned earlier, all the fields used by these companies must be kept free of pesticides and other chemicals that would violate standards. Usually, the initial number of pesticide-free years is three, but this number varies by country.
Of course, the land used are subject to periodic inspection to maintain the status of a certified organic food producer.
Due to these high standards, certified organic food providers must take that extra mile to ensure quality products. Although it may seem cumbersome, the certification process ensures the health promised by organic foods.
