Let's face it. Organic food products are high in demand. You'll see people walking down mall aisles looking for those organic food product sticker labels, a practice set by the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration.
The organic food must pass a stringent set of requirements set by the FDA. For example, the food must be grown with any use of chemical additives. Another example is that the livestock cannot be given growth hormones and antibiotics. These are but a few of the long list of requirements.
What are some requirements for organic food?
The demand for organic food has risen and it's caught the attention of the government. The government has stepped in to make sure everything goes according to plan by issuing certain criteria. Certified organic food involve more than not using pesticide and chemical fertilizer.
Every part of the process has to meet stringent criteria to earn the certification, starting from when the seeds start growing to how they're handled, even until the time they reach the consumers.
In addition, all the suppliers and 3rd party participants must pass the organic food standards. Seed providers, farmers, food processing companies, retailers, and even restaurants must pass their own appropriate criteria.
Unfortunately, current requirements for certified organic food differ by country; what may qualify in one country won't necessarily in another.
In a nutshell, the absence of synthetic products, chemical additives, pesticides, and growth hormones characterize the certification of organic food. Clearly, using sewer sludge as fertilizer will exempt a company from becoming a certified organic food provider.
Suppliers and Third Parties Have Standards, Too
Every company involved in the making of organic food must pass their own meticulous standard. They must keep strict records of production and sales. They must also record every equipment type involved in production. They must also maintain a solid border between the organic production areas from the non-organic production areas.
The company fields must be kept free of pesticides and other chemical additives for a set number of years. Normally, this number if three, but it varies by country.
The land and the production facility are subject to periodic inspection to maintain the status of a certified organic food producer.
Although the process is cumbersome, it grants the user certification of organic food provider, an edge in some marketplaces, for the demand for organic food products have risen due to growing awareness on healthy lifestyles.
