Organic on my plate

At the organic food shop I frequent in search of interesting buys, I often find little black insects moving in the packets of rice and other grains. The shopkeeper tells me, with a slightly righteous smile, that I have to make allowance for them because the produce is organic. I recently had to throw out a packet of urad dal because of the infestation — I suppose I could have sunned it and reused it, but the sight of so many creepy-crawlies among the hulled, cream-coloured dal put me off.

This shop and others also sell what they claim are organic vegetables. Some are branded with the name of the farm, some are sold loose. Many of them are smaller and shrivelled than the vegetables in regular markets, and there’s the same smile and explanation again — they’re not fed or protected by chemicals, so they will look less appealing. These stores stock products ranging from mosquito repellents to detergent, not to mention in-store brands of organic food that are not certified. How can a consumer be sure she is buying genuinely organic?

Umesh Chandrasekhar, Managing Director of IMO Control Pvt Ltd, the first certification body in India for organic agriculture, says it’s a tough call. India has no regulation for organic produce sold in the domestic market. Only exports require a certification, provided by agencies accredited to APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority). Some brands sold locally have a certificate, but there is no way of verifying its authenticity. The code number, logo and seal of the certifying body can easily be copied. It is up to consumers to write to the certifying organisation and find out if it is genuine, he says.

Also, there is no basis to the claims that organic vegetables are very likely to be misshapen and that the presence of pests in cereals proves they are organic, says Chandrasekhar. “Someone could be picking up all the bad vegetables and passing them off as organic,” he says, adding that “people are exploiting this area altogether”. Look for vegetables branded with the farm name and location. To be doubly sure, call the farm and find out whether it supplies to the store, he says. Without certification, trust — and a healthy dose of curiosity — are the things to go by.

As for the insects, if the pack is more than two months old and not nitrogen-flushed, it’s best not to buy it, he says. It could be a case of improper storage either at the warehouse or the store.

And those shampoos, soaps, disinfectants — are they really organic? Maybe not. Chandrasekhar says organic is more to do with the way things are cultivated, it’s mainly to do with food. “Only they (marketers) know what is organic and what’s not,” he says wryly. Reading the list of ingredients may prove helpful. If only 10-30 per cent of the products are organic, or herbal, or non-chemical — as the man on the street understands the term — the touted health/safety benefit could be little.

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