I’ve discussed in a previous post that purchasing organically-grown food is by no means a guarantee that the food is more nutritious. There are too many factors at play which can have an impact on the nutritional quality of food.
That said, I also mentioned that the one thing that organic produce does have in its favour is the absence of chemical pesticide residues. While Health Canada and all Big Agra companies will vigorously state that any residues left on produce would be minimal and be well beneath their thresholds for toxicity, I for one wouldn’t blame anyone for being cautious about ingesting any amount of a potentially toxic substance. For those who can afford the additional expense, purchasing organic produce seems to be a prudent, reasonable choice.
But are you getting what you’re paying for?
A recent report by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy reveals that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), who took over the regulation of organics in Canada in 2009, has no requirement for the testing of these products. What does that mean? It means that Food is being given an organic certification without actually being subjected to testing to determine if, indeed, the food is free of pesticide residues.
Currently, the process to receive an organic certification involves a thorough review of the farmer’s paperwork (looking for purchases of pesticides, or other indicators of pesticide use) as well as a tour of the facility, of which there is ample notice given (no surprise inspections). That’s all.
This is an invitation for fraud. In fact, as reported in the National Post , “CFIA documents showed that the agency did internal spot tests last year and found that nearly 24% of the 178 organic apples they tested contained pesticide residue. The results were kept for internal discussion only until CBC News compelled their release through the Access to Information Act.”
If food and livestock are not tested before being certified, then the certification is essentially meaningless.
I wish I could offer some good news here, or some advice on how to make certain that your organic produce is actually organic, but unless you know the farm where your food is coming from, there are no guarantees that the food you buy is free of chemical pesticides.
Looking on the bright side, though, that same study could read that 76% of the apples contained no pesticide residue. The majority of organically certified food is indeed organic. The best you can do (beyond lobbying for a proper certification process) is to continue to purchase organic and recognize that even if these residues are not being completely eliminated from your diet, they are being significantly reduced. And that’s still something.
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