People will never hesitate to pay extra for something that they know will benefit their health in the long run. This is demonstrated by the explosion of the organic food industry in recent years as it has been demonstrated that organically or naturally grown food are way healthier that those exposed to chemical fertilizers and artificial feeds.

What if the premium you were paying for these "organic-labeled" food items is nothing more than a cleverly cloaked marketing campaign?

This seems to be what is suggested by a recent article appearing in Yahoo News by Rheanna O'Neil Bellomo. The article cites the U.S. Department of Agriculture annual summary of pesticide data, wherein an alarming 21% of those labeled as organic still contain pesticide residue that includes some 40 synthetic chemicals found in fertilizers. What is even more alarming is that in a number of cases, the chemical residue of the organic samples is on par or even greater than the conventionally produced samples.

"Natural" and "Pesticide- Free"?

Perhaps the confusion, although some would prefer to use the term deliberate deception, stems from the sad fact that organic food labeling is not a tightly-sealed affair in the U.S. In an article by Chenglin Liu appearing in Forbes.com, "the USDA is not legally responsible for the conduct of the certifying agents" - those that decide when to stamp a product with the USDA organic logo.

According to the same article, only 48 of the 80 certifying agents are US-based which means that these foreign agents can just stamp any product with the USDA organic logo and the product is free to enter the US market as such.

This lack of clear-cut guidelines and jurisdiction is further articulated in the article by the Center for Food Safety. For example, the label "Pesticide-Free" is often misleading as consumers are led to believe that the food was grown without the use of pesticides. However, the article states that there is actually no legal requirement to use this label and any manufacturer can just place this label on any package of food, verified or not.

The article states that the "Natural" label is also another source of confusion and possible exploitation by manufacturers. Like the Forbes article, this CFS article laments the fact that there is no verification and no oversight and enforcement by either USDA or FDA for this labeling. This could mean that the "Natural" food in the grocery may contain artificial or even genetically-engineered ingredients.

In the absence of proper check and balance, it all boils down to how much you trust a particular organic producer. A large number of these organic farms still adhere to ethical standards and are true to their word when declaring their products as organic. There are also independent groups who have tested some of these products to guide health-conscious consumers.