What is Organic Food?

 "Organic" has some quite specific legal definitions in most developed countries.

In the U.S, all farms or products claiming to be "certified organic" must be guaranteed by a USDA-approved independent agency to be meeting the following guidelines:

* Sound records kept of all operations
* No use of antibiotics or hormones in livestock
* No use of genetically modified organisms
* No irradiation
* Use sound soil conservation and crop rotation practice
* And most importantly, that there has been no useage of prohibited materials within 3 years prior to certification, or at any time during certification.

The USDA defines 'prohibited materials' as synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and sewage sludge. It is also a requirement that there is no cross-contamination during processing, which means organic wheat for example cannot be ground in a flour factory that also handles non-organic material.

Produce grown organically certainly tastes better than the usual supermarket stock. It also contains higher levels of nutrients and far lower residual pesticides. You can read all the latest Organic Food articles and research at http://www.ge-free.com/

In general food grown free of pesticides, herbicides and genetically modified organisms (GMO) is organic to some extent. Certified organic food is that which meets the strict criteria of the USDA as described above. Most countries have their own version of regulation.

Organic food can be classified into two groups, fresh and processed.

There are many additional requirements for certification of processed organic food:

* contains a minimum percentage of organic ingredients.
* has no added artificial ingredients like preservatives etc.
* is processed free of artificial methods like chemical ripening or irradiation.

Most processed organic food is now available in supermarkets. There are also organic only stores in most large cities now, and there will be many more similar stores as the production of certified organic food increases.

About the Author

Jeremy is the owner of http://www.ge-free.com/ and publisher of the Organic News blog. Go to ge-free.com for all the latest organic food articles and news.

 Jeremy Pickles

More Articles 

Eat Healthy Foods - It Makes Sense! - Edwina Hanson
We all know the importance of eating healthy foods for their vitamin and mineral content. However, in recent years, scientists have discovered that there are hundreds of substances in food that have healing and disease prevention properties. So...

10 Deadly Bacteria That Can Get In Your Food (And How To Stop Them From Getting There) - Terry Nicholls
Thousands of types of bacteria are naturally present in our environment. Not all bacteria cause disease in humans (for example, some bacteria are used beneficially in making cheese and yogurt). However, the prime causes of food-borne illness...

High Fiber Foods: How To Head Off Holiday Indulgences - Stephanie Shank
Everybody knows this one. That nasty burning feeling in your throat after you unwisely devour just one more helping of Grandma Betty's double layer praline pumpkin chiffon pie. Indigestion is what most people know as heartburn. Burping, bloating...

The Forrest Gump of Food - Ed Williams
Let me paint an honest picture for ya’ll this week. As I write this, it’s 3:23 am in the morning. I’m sitting here typing in one of my Nu-Way t-shirts and some plain white drawers. There’s no light on in the house other than the light emanating...

Have Diabetes, But Enjoy Quality Food? Try Diabetic Recipes! - Mike Yeager
Having diabetes certainly limits some of the food you can eat, but with the right diabetic recipes you can still enjoy fine food. Sometimes, it is hard to know what foods are safe for you to eat. For your safety, you and your dietitian should...

Baby Shower Food Ideas - Cathy Cripps
Mediterranean Stuffed Sandwich Ingredients: 16 oz. loaf of round peasant-style bread 3 large tomatoes 1 large purple onion 1 green bell pepper 4 oz. crushed feta cheese 6 oz. canned of drained, rinsed tuna ½ cup of sliced kalamata olives 1...

Gourmet Foods For Every Occasion - Duane Smith
Enjoying fine food is definitely one of the pleasures of life. There is so much fast food and bland tasting dishes today because of the lack of time to really prepare food right, that when you do get to enjoy gourmet fine food, it's a special treat....

After the best sourced help pertaining to food packaging . - Tom
After the best sourced help pertaining to food packaging . When you are on the lookout for excellent information about food packaging , it will be hard separating value-packed advice from amateurish food packaging proposals and guidance so it is...

Ethnic Cuisine- Turkish food - Eats com
It has been rightly said by Abdulhak Sinasi "Do not dismiss the dish saying that it is just, simply food. The blessed thing is an entire civilization in itself". And this holds genuine for Turkish food. Turkish food is regarded as one of the...

Food-Storage - GratiaMarie Letendre
Food-Storage is the key to good way to extend food life. Food-storage is a wise investment for all of us. With the rising cost of food and the uncertain times we live in, the threat of food contamination is always present. Storing...