Eco, Bio & Regional How Reliable Are Food Labels Really?

Organic, Organic, Regional: What Consumers Need to Know About Seals
An "eco" label indicates that the environment is protected. "Organic" is healthier and "Regional" emphasizes that the products come from up close. Unfortunately it is not that easy. Such labels do not necessarily give consumers a 100% guarantee. But there are certainties.

"Organic" and "eco" give consumers a good feeling
Apples from the health food store and milk from the bioregal in the supermarket. Seals such as "organic" or "eco" usually give consumers a good feeling, even if they often do not know what these terms mean exactly. Are less harmful pesticides contained in organic products? Or is it better to buy organic products or to rely on fruits and vegetables from the region? In a recent communication from the news agency dpa, there is an overview, in which consumers can orient themselves:

Biosiegel says nothing about the pollutant content
Alexandra Borchard-Becker from the Verbraucher Initiative comments on the question of what organic labels say about a possible pollutant content: "Nothing at all. No seal can do that. Organic labels only indicate the form of the cultivation. "However, consumers can rely on them, for example, if they buy goods with the Demeter seal, that no synthetic chemical fertilizers were used, or that the products contain only 13 absolutely necessary additives.

This is real organic goods
The food expert Laura Gross of the consumer initiative Berlin had explained in an interview with the dpa last year how to recognize real organic goods. Among other things, she pointed out that all organic distributors must be able to produce an eco-control number for their products. A decisive factor in the production of organic goods is the renunciation of chemical-synthetic pesticides whose residues in conventional products often remain on or in the food and are harmful to health or at least suspected of triggering allergies or even to promote cancer.

Some farming associations have stricter requirements
As stated in the current agency report, consumers generally know that the EU Organic logo - a stylized sheet of twelve white stars on a green background - means that the legal requirements of the EC Organic Farming Regulation are at least fulfilled. As a rule, labels of cultivation associations such as Demeter, Bioland or Naturland have stricter specifications than those of the EC Organic Regulation. "But I have no guarantee here that the food is completely clean," says Borchard-Becker. Partly this is not due to the nature of the cultivation. For example, if a field of organic tubes is near a field of conventional cultivation, it is quite possible that pesticide residues may also be present on the biomass as the wind disperses the spray. Consumers ultimately only have to rely on food controls. These must be noticed when residues exceed a legally permitted value.

Products from overseas or from the region
It is up to consumers to decide for themselves whether to import organic products imported from overseas or prefer regional foods. It helps to take a closer look at the information on the packaging for the goods from the health food store. For example, if an apple comes from China or Egypt. "So I have to ask myself the question: how much is the biovariane worth to me?" Says Borchard-Becker. So you can ask if you want to take a high water consumption and long transport routes in purchasing or rather decides for products that grow here. And in the episode may prefer the apple or potato from the farmer around the corner.

Regional does not mean organic
It should be noted that, conversely, regional does not mean organic. Usually, however, it is possible to ask at the market or in a farm shop how fruits and vegetables have been grown or treated. However, it becomes tricky with fruits, vegetables and other supermarket products that are labeled with spongy terms such as "from the region". The blue "regional window" gives you a better orientation. This indicates where the main ingredient of a product comes from, where it has been processed and what is the total content of the regional ingredients. However, the use of the logo is voluntary for manufacturers and retailers. (Ad)

1: PhotoHiero
Picture 2: Bio-Sigel officially