The countdown to organic: a discussion on the USDA's national

摘要

Remember when the word "natural" actually meant something? Unfortunately, these days the word is used so carelessly in marketing brochures and press releases that "natural" is too often used to describe a mainstream product whose natural components may be lost amid the chemicals and other synthetic ingredients found within that same product. With the rising consumer interest in organic foods (purchased by 43 percent of American households, according to the National Marketing Institute), as well as the tendency for mainstream food manufacturers to infiltrate a growing market, the belief that "organic" would eventually share a similar fate seemed only "natural." Not so, according to the new National Organic Standards (NOS) issued by the USDA. Beginning Oct. 21, products labeled "organic" will have to obey strict requirements in order to achieve certified organic status.