How organic is organic food?
The adjective Red, for a Beetroot is redundant. Today, when synthetic foods dominate our diet, can we say the same about the use of the adjective Organic for Foods? Isn’t all food, atleast that it raw form (vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat, etc.) supposed to be organic?
Sadly, more and more food products and other edibles such as nutrition supplements, proteins, are synthetically processed. The substitution of organic and naturally occurring food items with synthetic or synthetically processed food items has resulted in biological magnification as well as affected human health. Some jurisdictions like the USA, EU, Canada, India and Australia have various laws and standards to regulate the use of the word Organic or Natural on food packets or labels. These jurisdictions have well established provisions and procedures for obtaining certification for use of such words. For example, the USDA Organic requires that organic food products should be pesticide free, fertilizer free, hormone free, radiation free, etc.
India has Food Safety and Standards (Organic Foods) Regulations, 2017 which regulates the use of the term ‘Organic’ on Food Products. It is interesting to note that as per the Indian Trade Marks Registry, there are more than 450 trademark Applications containing the word Organic in Class 29 alone. In order to claim that the food item is an Organic Food item, the proprietor is required to comply with the provisions of the National Programme for Organic Production or the Participatory Guarantee System for India or any other standards notified by the FSSAI. However, food that is marketed for direct sales by small producers is exempted from these compliances. The Label of Organic Food Items/ Products should provide accurate information on the organic status of the product. It is required to carry the certification mark of the concerned systems and the FSSAI logo. As per these regulations, it is mandatory to display the traceability of the food item right upto its Producer.
