Organic food labels make local debut

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Nov 01, 2002 | by Cahalan, Steve

New organic food labels regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are making their debut and will boost the already rapid growth of organic food sales, an official of the La Farge, Wis.-based Coulee Region Organic Produce Pool said Thursday.

"I think they definitely will" add to sales growth, said Theresa Marquez, marketing director for CROPP, an organic farmer cooperative that sells products under the Organic Valley name. "Because it will help consumers have confidence" that food labeled as organic really is, she said.

Marquez, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, and Michelle Schry, general manager of the People's Food Coop in La Crosse, talked about the new regulated labels at a press conference outside the food co-op.

George Siemon, CROPP chief executive officer, has been serving on a National Organic Standards Board that helped the U.S. Department of Agriculture develop standards for what is organic. CROPP is the nation's largest organic cooperative, Marquez said.

The labels are part of a set of standards the Department of Agriculture adopted to eliminate consumer confusion over which foods are organic. Until Oct. 21, when the new rules took effect, standards had varied from state to state and company to company. As of that date, any organic agricultural product had to meet USDA standards in order to be sold as organic.

Foods that are from 95 to 100 percent organic will be labeled as such and may carry a green USDA organic seal. Products that are at least 70 percent organic may be labeled as "made with organic ingredients" or "contains organic ingredients" but will carry no USDA seal.

"A lot of manufacturers in organic (foods) won't have that label on their package for three or four months" because they have old packaging to use up, Marquez said. "Some of our labels will have it right away," she said of CROPP, "But our fluid milk labels probably won't change for another three months. It just depends on the product."

With the new labels, Kind said, consumers will know whether a food product qualifies as organic. "Up until now, it's been private certifiers that have been basically certifying around the country whether a food qualifies as organic or not," he said.

Kind also said, "This to me is all about choices. It gives family farmers a choice on whether they want to continue with conventional farming, or whether they want to transition into organic and sustainable types of farming practices. It gives consumers a choice, in whether they want to purchase organic foods or whether they want to purchase other conventional types of foods."

Schry, whose food co-op sells many organic food products, said she is glad new standards have been developed. Organic farming protects the environment and farmers from exposure to chemicals and creates opportunities for "fairer pricing" for farmers, she said. Organic food products usually sell for higher prices.