Fielding Questions on Organic Foods

The USDA has set uniform rules for producing and labeling organic food. The label says "USDA ORGANIC" across a field and the horizon.

Products like soup or snack foods may carry this label. Products with 95 percent or more organic ingredients can be called organic on the main panel on the label. Products with less than 70 percent organic content can use the term "organic" only on the ingredient information panel.

In addition, growers can't use sewage sludge for fertilizer. But pesticides are so much a part of our environment that organic produce is not guaranteed to be completely pesticide-free. Still, a Consumer Reports study found organic foods "had consistently minimal or non-existent pesticide residue."

The USDA says the organic label doesn't guarantee greater safety, health, quality, or nutritional value. The label does assure consumers that organic products are grown and processed using USDA standards.

The limited supply of organic ingredients means firms that buy them may have to pay more because of small crop yields or long-distance shipping. That should improve as more land is devoted to producing them.

Research is under way on the health effects of pesticides and other chemicals. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says most food contains pesticide residues at levels low enough to be considered safe. The Food Quality Protection Act, passed in 1996, set up a single, health-based standard for all pesticides in all foods, according to Cornell University. The act streamlines approval of safer pesticides and encourages the development of safer crop protection tools for farmers.

EPA guidelines support all three practices. Gently scrub produce under running water rather than just soaking it to remove bacteria, dirt, and chemical residue. Peeling and trimming skin from fruits and vegetables help remove additional pesticide traces. The loss of nutrients in the skins is a reasonable trade-off for the added safety, nutritionists say. Eating a variety of foods lowers the chance that you will be exposed to high levels of a single pesticide. Add this to a safe food-handling routine that includes washing hands often, cooking foods thoroughly, keeping perishable foods cold, separating raw meat from other foods, and avoiding cross-contamination.