Understand what "organic" really means

This simple guide can help you decide if going organic is worth the price

Organic foods -- vegetables and fruits that are grown without the use of most chemical pesticides and fertilizers, or meats that haven't been treated with growth hormones and antibiotics -- have become increasingly popular in recent years. Close to 60 percent of Americans are willing to pay the extra 50 percent or so on their grocery bill to get produce that has been organically grown. In October 2002, the USDA's (United States Department of Agriculture)National Organic Program and the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service established a set of national organic standards and developed a labeling system to give shoppers more information about the food that they're buying.

1. 100 percent organic means the product only contains ingredients produced without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers (excluding water and salt). It's most commonly displayed on single-ingredient foods, like a tomato or a carton of milk. (The package may carry a "USDA Organic" seal.)

2. Organic means that at least 95 percent of the product contains ingredients produced without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers (excluding water and salt). The remaining 5 percent contains nonagricultural (nonorganic) or synthetic substances that the USDA allows as ingredients in or on processed products. This label is most commonly used on prepackaged goods, like meats and cheeses. (The package may carry a "USDA Organic" seal.)

3. Made with organic ingredients means that at least 70 percent of the product contains ingredients produced without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers (excluding water and salt). The remaining 30 percent includes nonorganic ingredients produced using chemicals and pesticides deemed safe for consumption.

4. Natural or all natural does not indicate an organic product. This label only means that the product contains no artificial ingredients or added color and is only minimally processed using chemicals and fertilizers that do not fundamentally alter the raw product.

5. Free-range or free-roaming labels are applied to meat and poultry and do not indicate that the product is organic. The requirement for the meat or poultry bearing this label is that the animal it came from lived more than 50 percent of its lifetime with access to an open environment. "Free-range" or "free-roaming" does not ensure that the animals were not treated with hormones or antibiotics.

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