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By Terri Coles
TORONTO (Reuters) - Consumers who are keen to know if the food they're buying has been grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers have more information at their fingertips than they may realize, although it may not be official.
Food certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers carries the "USDA Organic" label. Some producers, however, choose to indicate that organic growing practices are being used but the requirements for organic certification haven't yet been met. Others have no intention of gaining USDA Organic certification, but still want to label their products in a way that highlights the natural farming methods used to grow them.
"There are a variety of terms that are popular as an alternative to organic, but they cannot mean organic," said Kathy Means of the Produce Marketing Association. Products cannot be labeled as organic unless they are certified through the USDA. To receive certification, crops must be grown without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years.
Unlike "organic", terms like "natural" don't have any regulatory meaning. Unless they are going through an independent certification body, producers can market their product as "natural" or "naturally grown" without backing it up.
Like "local" - another produce buzzword often tied to taste- "natural" means something to consumers, but lacks a widely understood definition. "I think there's a sense that the word 'natural' carries some sort of emotional attachment," said Means. "Natural just seems better, even though it doesn't mean anything."
Stemilt Growers, a leading national apple producer, is in the second year of a process to certify its cherries, peaches and nectarines as organic, but the company is already seeing a difference in the crops due to the natural growing methods that must be used during the transitional period, said Roger Pepperl, Stemilt's marketing director.
To highlight the qualities of these naturally grown fruits, and to market them as a premium product, the company has developed a new label, "Artisan Naturals", which will appear on the packaging along with the USDA's transitional label. The label will change to "Artisan Organics" once Stemilt has achieved USDA Organic certification.
"The reason why we came up with the 'Artisan Natural' label is because we wanted to start marketing the food for the qualities of organic farming right now," said Pepperl. "Because we're organically farming those peaches and nectarines, we're getting fantastic complexities and flavors because of the low-nitrated trees."
Surveys have shown that flavor remains the primary concern for consumers when purchasing produce. Any labels highlighting qualities that are tied to produce flavor, like"fresh" or "natural", will have to back that up in the product, said Means. "The word has to be backed up by what the consumer is seeing. They're going to trust their five senses as well as what they're seeing on the packaging."
While some growers use alternative labeling as a way to distinguish their produce while they wait for USDA certification, others are not aiming to use an organic label even if their growing methods are in line with the USDA Organic program. For smaller farmers using natural growing methods, the cost and work involved can put USDA certification out of reach, said Alice Varon of Certified Naturally Grown, a non-profit grassroots alternative certification program.
"The USDA program is better designed for larger agribusiness, and requires a good deal of paperwork and record-keeping that is necessary for the larger operations that are selling through distributors," Varon said. "But for the smaller diverse farms that are selling at local markets, all that paperwork is superfluous."
Other farmers may not want to be associated with what they see as the USDA's insufficient standards for organic farming, or just want to avoid government interference in their business.
Consumers still look for a way to purchase food grown using natural methods, and smaller producers often get questions about their farming techniques at local markets, Varon said.
Certified Naturally Grown's standards start with those mandated under the USDA program, and then add to those in certain areas, particularly around livestock. Working with the certification program allows farmers to use the "Certified Naturally Grown" label and gives smaller producers a way to reassure consumers about their growing practices, even if they can't use the word "organic".
"I think customers really appreciate that those farmers who are growing organically, but not going the official government route, have an alternative that can give them some reassurance that the process is verified," Varon said. "Farmers are using the practices that they say they use, and it's clearly defined what those are."
Means of the Produce Marketing Association sees no need to add regulations for produce grown with natural methods, among other labels. It would be difficult to decide on a nationwide definition for terms like "natural" or "local", she said, because they mean different things to different consumers.
"I would get concerned about having too many regulations about what every single word means on every single package."
Alternative labeling gives something back to farmers who found themselves unable to use the word "organic" after the USDA regulations came in, even if it described their growing methods and the produce that resulted, Varon said.
"Farmers really appreciate that they once again have an option to market their produce in a way that really describes it."
Regulating a term like "naturally grown" would cause the same problems for those farmers as previous regulations have, Varon added. "That would be annoying in the same way that it was annoying when organic was regulated."
By Terri Coles
TORONTO (Reuters) - Consumers who are keen to know if the food they're buying has been grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers have more information at their fingertips than they may realize, although it may not be official.
Food certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers carries the "USDA Organic" label. Some producers, however, choose to indicate that organic growing practices are being used but the requirements for organic certification haven't yet been met. Others have no intention of gaining USDA Organic certification, but still want to label their products in a way that highlights the natural farming methods used to grow them.
"There are a variety of terms that are popular as an alternative to organic, but they cannot mean organic," said Kathy Means of the Produce Marketing Association. Products cannot be labeled as organic unless they are certified through the USDA. To receive certification, crops must be grown without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years.
Unlike "organic", terms like "natural" don't have any regulatory meaning. Unless they are going through an independent certification body, producers can market their product as "natural" or "naturally grown" without backing it up.
Like "local" - another produce buzzword often tied to taste- "natural" means something to consumers, but lacks a widely understood definition. "I think there's a sense that the word 'natural' carries some sort of emotional attachment," said Means. "Natural just seems better, even though it doesn't mean anything."
Stemilt Growers, a leading national apple producer, is in the second year of a process to certify its cherries, peaches and nectarines as organic, but the company is already seeing a difference in the crops due to the natural growing methods that must be used during the transitional period, said Roger Pepperl, Stemilt's marketing director.
To highlight the qualities of these naturally grown fruits, and to market them as a premium product, the company has developed a new label, "Artisan Naturals", which will appear on the packaging along with the USDA's transitional label. The label will change to "Artisan Organics" once Stemilt has achieved USDA Organic certification.
"The reason why we came up with the 'Artisan Natural' label is because we wanted to start marketing the food for the qualities of organic farming right now," said Pepperl. "Because we're organically farming those peaches and nectarines, we're getting fantastic complexities and flavors because of the low-nitrated trees."
Surveys have shown that flavor remains the primary concern for consumers when purchasing produce. Any labels highlighting qualities that are tied to produce flavor, like"fresh" or "natural", will have to back that up in the product, said Means. "The word has to be backed up by what the consumer is seeing. They're going to trust their five senses as well as what they're seeing on the packaging."
While some growers use alternative labeling as a way to distinguish their produce while they wait for USDA certification, others are not aiming to use an organic label even if their growing methods are in line with the USDA Organic program. For smaller farmers using natural growing methods, the cost and work involved can put USDA certification out of reach, said Alice Varon of Certified Naturally Grown, a non-profit grassroots alternative certification program.
"The USDA program is better designed for larger agribusiness, and requires a good deal of paperwork and record-keeping that is necessary for the larger operations that are selling through distributors," Varon said. "But for the smaller diverse farms that are selling at local markets, all that paperwork is superfluous."
Other farmers may not want to be associated with what they see as the USDA's insufficient standards for organic farming, or just want to avoid government interference in their business.
Consumers still look for a way to purchase food grown using natural methods, and smaller producers often get questions about their farming techniques at local markets, Varon said.
Certified Naturally Grown's standards start with those mandated under the USDA program, and then add to those in certain areas, particularly around livestock. Working with the certification program allows farmers to use the "Certified Naturally Grown" label and gives smaller producers a way to reassure consumers about their growing practices, even if they can't use the word "organic".
"I think customers really appreciate that those farmers who are growing organically, but not going the official government route, have an alternative that can give them some reassurance that the process is verified," Varon said. "Farmers are using the practices that they say they use, and it's clearly defined what those are."
Means of the Produce Marketing Association sees no need to add regulations for produce grown with natural methods, among other labels. It would be difficult to decide on a nationwide definition for terms like "natural" or "local", she said, because they mean different things to different consumers.
"I would get concerned about having too many regulations about what every single word means on every single package."
Alternative labeling gives something back to farmers who found themselves unable to use the word "organic" after the USDA regulations came in, even if it described their growing methods and the produce that resulted, Varon said.
"Farmers really appreciate that they once again have an option to market their produce in a way that really describes it."
Regulating a term like "naturally grown" would cause the same problems for those farmers as previous regulations have, Varon added. "That would be annoying in the same way that it was annoying when organic was regulated."