Organic food fraud in the UK/Daily Telegraph article

[TylerDurden]

One sixth of 'fresh', 'organic' or 'handmade' food is fake
One in six farm shops, delicatessens and restaurants that claim to offer “organic,” “fresh” or “handmade” food are cheating their customers, an investigation has found.

Of 180 outlets checked by food standards officials, 30 were found to be charging customers more by making false claims about the health value of the food they served.

Investigators found that the “hand-made potato cakes” advertised on one menu were in fact frozen hash browns, while the “hand-carved ham” on another was pre-packed and frozen.

One outlet claimed to sell “home-made pies” which had actually been bought in bulk from a national wholesaler.

Officials from Suffolk Council’s trading standards department also found that some restaurants lie about the ingredients they use to make their dishes sound more exotic.

One menu boasted a dish made with sun dried tomato paste, when the real ingredient was tomato puree.

[Löwenherz]

One sixth of 'fresh', 'organic' or 'handmade' food is fake
One in six farm shops, delicatessens and restaurants that claim to offer “organic,” “fresh” or “handmade” food are cheating their customers, an investigation has found.

It's the same in Germany.

Recently officials found out that some million (!) organic eggs in many supermarkets have not been organic at all. One more reason to avoid supermarkets...

Löwenherz

[FoxWoman]

This is why I don't really go for "organic" products - in most cases they look and taste exactly like conventional ones.

[TylerDurden]

I have found nonorganic grassfed meats to be far better in terms of nutrients/taste than organic, grainfed meats.  The problem is that "organic" these days means virtually nothing. In the UK, there have been attempts, so far unsuccessful, to have 5 different grades of "organic", with wld meats being grade 1, and low-grade organic/grainfed meats and the like being grade 5.

[Löwenherz]

I have found nonorganic grassfed meats to be far better in terms of nutrients/taste than organic, grainfed meats.

Definitely!

Grains are always disastrous. For nature, for animals and for humans. Devil's plan is working...


Löwenherz

[magnetic]

From what I understand, organic is a legal term.  As such, people should start suing if it can be done profitably.

"Organic" is really unnecessary though.  It is treated as a label (much like Nike or Starbucks).  People look for the label because they think organic is always better and worth paying marginally more money.  As such it is a shortcut.  For instance, if labels were for some reason banned by the government, I imagine we would have shoes with long lists of facts:

MADE WITH PREMIUM LEATHER
MADE IN A "GREEN" FACTORY
WATERPROOF RATING PQR
SOLES HAVE A DURABILITY RATING OF XYZ

and so on.

When you buy from the farmer, there is no need for branding.  You both know where the stuff is coming from.  He wants your business and you want his meat/fruit/vegetables.  So you can always ask about how it all was produced.  For the seller, reputation is everything.  So the seller can surely lie, but he is really risking his entire enterprise in doing so.  And there is no protection from consumers who could one day decide they no longer want the farmer's product.

Organic is a racket.  It is a legal term, meaning the state uses its powers to make sure that the term is applied in the way that they deem appropriate.  It is a brand that ultimately belongs to the state.  You can list your food as being free from pesticides, herbicides and so on but you cannot use the "organic" brand that belongs to the state without the permission of the state.  Such restriction is a curtailment of the "freedom of speech" Americans pretend to cherish.