Teaching Retailers to Inspire Consumer Confidence in Organics

 

 

Story URL: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=87489
Story Retrieval Date: 5/1/2008 8:31:37 AM CST

 

Consumer confidence becomes a key ingredient in the organic foods trade

by Kelly Williams
Apr 30, 2008

Organic labeling can be confusing, cryptic and deceptive. But a new movement to change this is going grass roots, by educating every person in the food supply chain. The goal is consumer confidence.

At the Global Food and Style Expo at McCormick Place, educational seminars held this week on all things organic included topics such as “Educated on Organic: Your employees and your customers.”

The session for tradespeople taught them how to provide consistent, clear and truthful messaging and labeling about organic.

U.S. sales of organic food and beverages grew from $1 billion in 1990 to an estimated $20 billion in 2007, a whopping 20-fold increase in sales, according to the Organic Trade Association.

But the trade acknowledges that consumers often don’t feel they know what they are buying when the label says organic. With the increasingly popularity of organic products, knowledge for both consumers and the trade was the center of the conversation at McCormick Place.

“The most important thing is for customers to know what they are getting,” said Bob Quinn, an organic farmer, promoter and researcher from Kamut International in Montana.

In order for that to happen, customers need consistent information to evaluate different grades of organic products and compare them to competing products for sale, often at a lesser costs.

This requires that all people involved in the food supply chain become educated, said Ed O’Malley of Albert’s Organic.

“We can’t do enough,” O’Malley said. “There’s a lot of confusion out there.”

O’Malley’s company developed a program for retailers to train their employees about the organic products in their stores. “Produce College” graduates even get a diploma.

The program is aimed at produce buyers, merchandisers, produce associates, store owners or anyone interested on becoming more knowledgeable about organics.

Phyllis Ropaki, a program coordinator at Bashas’ grocery store chain in Arizona, said that Albert’s Organic Produce College program has been a huge success at their stores.

“The key,” she said, “is product knowledge training.”

So what is organic? “Organic” refers to the way that agricultural products – including foods and fibers such as cotton – are grown and processed. It stands for a system of agriculture using methods and materials that are of low impact to the environment, according to the Organic Trade Association. The practices include limited use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers.

The National Organic Standards Board advises that organic agriculture practices cannot ensure that products are completely free of pesticide residues. However, methods are used to minimize pollution from air, soil and water.

As of October 2002, all agricultural products labeled as organic in the United States must be in compliance with national law governing organic labeling. There are no similar standards that apply to the use of terms such as “natural” or “fresh.”

As a part of that legislation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Organic Program approved four categories of organic labels:

1. 100 percent organic: all of a product’s content is certified organic, requiring
practices and methods of farming that conform to all standards for organic ingredients.
2. Organic: at least 95 percent of the contents by weight excluding water and salt is organic
3. Made with Organic: at least 70 percent of content is organic
4. Products containing less than 70 percent organic content: can only identify specific organic content in the ingredient panel

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a civil penalty of up to $11,000 can be levied on any person who knowingly sells or labels as organic a product that is not produced and handled in accordance with the program’s regulations.

 

Organic Farming Methods

• Alternate crops grown in each field, rather than growing the same crop year after year.

• Plant cover crops such as clover to add nutrients to the soil and prevent weeds.

• Release beneficial insects to prey on pests, helping to eleminate the need for chemical insecticides that can remain in the soil for years.

• Add composted manure and plant wastes to help the soil retain moisture and nutrients.

Source: Organic Trade Association, www.ota.com