Deconstructing "Organic"
JUNE 16, 2007 Listen to this Story
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What exactly does the "organic" label mean? Don't worry, the USDA doesn't know either. The deadline has come and gone for the USDA to decide on a list of 38 non-organic ingredients that will be allowed into all organic food. The list includes things like celery seed, fish oil and hops. We asked Craig Minowa, an environmental scientist, to help us break down what it means when something is labeled organic and why this list of 38 non-organic ingredients is so important.
The 38 non-organic ingredients, half of them food colorings, in organic foods:
Casings, from processed intestines
Celery powder
Chia (herb)
Chipotle chile peppers
Dillweed oil
Fish oil
Frozen galangal (flavoring)
Frozen lemongrass
Fructooligosaccharides (non-digestible carbohydrate)
Gelatin
Hops
Konjac flour
Oligofructose-enriched inulin (fiber additive)
Orange shellac (coating agent)
Rice starch
Sweet potato starch
Turkish bay leaves
Wakame seaweed
Whey protein concentrate
Food colorings
Annatto extract
Beet juice
Beta-carotene derived from carrots
Black currant juice
Black/purple carrot juice
Blueberry juice
Carrot juice
Cherry juice
Chokeberry-aronia juice
Elderberry juice
Grape juice
Grape skin extract
Paprika
Pumpkin juice
Purple potato juice
Red cabbage extract
Red radish extract
Saffron
Turmeric
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- Music Bridge:
- Swisha
- Artist: Ratatat
- CD: Classics (xl)
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