Take "organic and natural" labels cautiously

As a marketing strategem, organic produce, meat and other products are a natural. Whether or not they are actually 100% what they say they are, is a totally different matter.

"Organic" and "natural" products are certainly more expensive, and almost certainly, more profitable for the retailer, processor and grower. But you have to dig deep and read the FDA and USDA regulations governing them very carefully. What you'll mainly discern is that there are only shades of difference between regular, ordinary produce or meat, and the higher priced organic--and there may, in fact, be no difference at all.

For years, there was a major line of demarcation in the produce department of the typical supermarket between the brightly colored, fresh, plump regular produce, and the smaller, browner, spotted organic stuff. To buy organic, you were sacrificing freshness, eye appeal and money.

The gap has narrowed in recent years, so there is less visual difference between regular and organic, as you walk down the supermarket aisle. Whether there is sufficient quality difference to justify the higher price, is open to interpretation and personal preference.

USDA and FDA regulations allow a certain amount of what many would see as non-organic practices go into the production of organic products, while non-organic produce could well have been raised, for all practical intent, organically. It is a fine line.

There is also a certain amount of fraud, real or unintentional, that creeps into the produce section as relates to organics. Whose to say, that in a dire moment to fill a display and get your shift over with, a few non-organic apples don't get put in the wrong bin?

We were reminded of this as organic grocer Whole Foods was found this week to have stocked Nebraska Beef hamburger, which almost certainly did not meet the standards for organic. It had to initiate a recall, in fact, a grossly embarassing event for a supposedly superior, ultra-healthy, organic grocer.

Common sense, which is actually very uncommon, would dictate that you take organic labels with a grain of salt, despite your high blood pressure.