Is It Organic? Identify Produce Right in the Store

“Going Organic” is a good step in taking responsibility for your health. By putting organic foods in your body, you are ensuring that only the best quality foods are entering your body, and you are optimizing your chances of absorbing more nutrients while eliminating the intake of chemicals and pesticides. For that reason alone, I tend to gravitate towards the “organic” produce section of my grocery story. But how can I be sure that what I’m actually buying IS organic?

Know the Seal

The first thing you want to look for is the organic “seal”. In the USA, the USDA has an organic seal that they will place onto any sort of food that they deem to be organic. What this means is that the food bearing a ‘USDA Certified Organic’ seal has been grown without any artificial fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, and that there are zero chemical preservatives. Meat products can be labeled organic only if the animals ate only organically grown feed and have not been injected with any sort of growth hormones or antibiotics.

Another sure-fire way to know that the apple or zucchini that you have picked up is considered “organic” is to look at the sticker on it. The number that you will see on the produce has a whole lot to do in determining whether or not that particular item is organic or not. All organic items begin with a “9”. Other produce items begin with either a “3” or a “4”. Typically the digits after the first number will be the same if the product is the same (i.e. ordinary Pink Lady apples will have a PLU sticker code of 4130, whereas an organic Pink Lady apple will be 94130). If you see any “8” prefixes on any foods, this means that the food is a GMO item, or genetically modified.

Go Straight to the Farm

The best way to know whether or not a food item is organic is to visit a farm market and to speak to the farmer personally! Though these can be hard to come by if you are living in the city, those living in the suburbs should take advantage of such markets as they receive more personalized service, they are supporting their local farming community, and the produce is usually even less expensive than that which you would find in a grocery store!

photo by CB CS