Countless companies advertise their products as “organic” and “non-GMO,” but it can be hard to know what that means and how accurate these labels are without knowing how labeling works.
Organic and non-GMO
The saying “organic is always non-GMO” is true, but that only tells part of the story about what being organic or non-GMO truly entails.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates how food gets labeled based on strict standards of proper agricultural practices,
Did you know?
The Organic Integrity Database website, organic.ams.usda.gov/integrity/, offers a list of certified organic ranches, farms and food handlers in the US, as well as globally.
Organic foods are non-GMO, as they have not experienced genetic engineering or interacted with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that change the natural genetic makeup of plants and animals, such as allowing plants to create their own pesticides or withstand lethal herbicides intended to control weeds.
To be classified as non-GMO, each product must be evaluated to guarantee that there has not been contamination or exposure to the travel of GMOs. Certified foods will have the signature butterfly label of The Non-GMO Project.
Labeling and advertising a food as organic asserts that the USDA has certified the ingredients based on the percentage of organic ingredients present in the product. According to the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, the National Organic Program not only regulates all organic crops, livestock and agricultural products, but also conducts oversight of organic certification, compliance and enforcement activities to ensure that organic farms and businesses follow all of the regulations.
There are more than 45,000 onsite inspections each year to monitor compliance, as well as audits, a residue testing program, robust compliance and enforcement activities, and risk-based investigations to ensure the organic label.
Labels to Know
100% organic: all ingredients within the product are organic, excluding salt and water, which are considered natural products, and will have the USDA seal
Organic: 95 percent of ingredients are organic, with the other 5 percent including approved additional ingredients, excluding salt and water, and may or may not have the USDA seal
Made with organic…: may list up to 3 organic ingredients or food groups; signifies that 70 percent of ingredients are organic with the rest including approved ingredients, will not have a USDA seal
Specific Organic Ingredient Listings: list of limited organic ingredients, less than 70 percent organic and remaining ingredients not required to follow regulations
Similar Labels: These labels have similar phrasing and meanings. Verification of these claims can vary widely
Cage-free: birds can freely roam a building or enclosed area with unlimited access to food and water; does not specify type of feed for the animals
Free-range: birds have unlimited access to food, water and designated areas inside and outside, also may not be fenced or netted outdoors; does not specify type of feed for the animals
Grass-fed: grass is the main source of nutrients and these animals have continuous access to pasture; does not limit the use of antibiotics, hormones or pesticides; certified organic cows have to be on the pasture during grazing season and eat certified organic pasture or feed
Humane: claims of humane treatment towards animals by private labeling programs
Natural: Meat, poultry and egg products that are minimally processed and have no artificial ingredients; does not include standards about farm practices; applies solely to the processing of these specific products because no standards or regulations exist for other food products without meat, poultry or eggs
Pasture-raised: no USDA labeling policy for pasture-raised products
According to the USDA
Quality date-labeling
According to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), dates applied to food packaging do not indicate a product’s safety, except in the case of infant formula. Instead, these dates estimate the time period for the product’s best quality, as it is not required by federal law to indicate dates for the product’s safety.
These quality dates measure the food’s characteristics, type of packaging and the different conditions a product will undergo in distribution and sale, such as length of time and temperature, to determine the product’s best quality.
There are two types of food product dating, depending on the type of food. Open dating estimates the time of best quality and display time for meats, poultry and eggs, whereas closed dating identifies the date and time of a shelf product’s production.
The FSIS says there is no uniform or universally accepted labeling, so a variety of labels are used to describe the same thing.
Labels such as “Best If Used By/Before, Use-By and Freeze-By refer to the end of the product’s peak quality or taste, while Sell-By helps with inventory management.
So, while it can be better to use these products before the suggested dates, there is no hard-and-fast rule for how these dates apply to the safety of the food product, or how accurate they are about food quality. It is always best to check the product before you consume it, no matter what the label says.
For more information about these types of labels, attend Healthy New Albany’s Community Health Talk:
Monday, March 18
How to Decode Food Labels & Ingredient Lists
6-7 p.m., Philip Heit Center for Healthy New Albany, 150 W. Main St.
Jane Dimel is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback is welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
