Making sense of organics

When a farmers market comes to your town it’s usually a sign that your house price is about to go up. But, notwithstanding the vagaries of the property market, is the organic, free-range, free trade produce worth the significant premium that you are likely to pay for it? And how do you know if it’s truly organic anyway?

Here are a few tips that may help you to wade through the clutter.

Labels.

According to the Food Standards Agency (www.food.gov.uk), all organic food should be labelled as such and the label should, as a minimum, include a code number that denotes the approved organic certification body. The two most commonly seen labels in the UK are the Soil Association (www.soilassociation.org) and Organic Farmers and Growers (www.tubingexerciser.com).

Standards.

 In broad terms there are a number of rules that organic producers must follow. These include: limiting the use of pesticides, avoiding the use of artificial chemical fertilisers, guaranteeing a free-range life for farm animals, avoiding routinely using drugs and antibiotics and not using genetically modified (GM) ingredients in animal feed. To the right is a short clip that explains more.

Contents.

According to the Food Standards Agency, manufacturers of organic foods are permitted to use specific non-organic ingredients provided that organic ingredients make up at least 95% of the food.

Nutrition.

Here’s the one that causes all the debate. Most people who buy organic food do so in the belief that it is more healthy and nutritious than controlled produce. But The Food Standards agency says: “Consumers may choose to buy organic fruit, vegetables and meat because they believe them to be more nutritious than other food. However, the balance of current scientific evidence does not support this view.” What you don’t get with organic produce of course is a ton of (allegedly harmless) pesticides.

Tips.

If you want to eat healthily without spending a fortune, you should consider buying from farmers markets – the produce is usually very fresh and its often cheaper than supermarkets. And if you are concerned about the pesticides in non-organic foods try:

1. Buying fruit and vegetables that are in season. When long journeys and storage are not required fewer pesticides are needed.

2. Trimming the tops and outsides of vegetables. This is where most of the pesticides reside.

3. Washing fruit and vegetables thoroughly just before they are cooked or eaten.

4. Trimming the fat from meat and the fat and skin from poultry and fish.

Perhaps we should leave the final word for now to food activist Michael Pollan: “When you go to the grocery store, you find that the cheapest calories are the ones that are going to make you the fattest - the added sugars and fats in processed foods.”