Editorial: What’s in a label?

Monday, June 18, 2007 | 7:05 a.m.

People who believe what they read on food labels should be aware that items tagged as "USDA organic" may not always be chemical-free.

According to a story by the Los Angeles Times a week ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been allowing 38 nonorganic ingredients to be used in products labeled as "USDA organic." The ingredients include 19 food colorings, hops for beers that have been grown with chemical fertilizers and pesticides and hot dog casings made from the intestines of animals that may not have been raised according to organic methods.

Under a 2005 federal court ruling the USDA had until June 8 to decide whether to continue allowing the use of these ingredients in foods labeled as "USDA organic." But the agency did not issue its final decision by that time, the Times reports. So it remains unclear as to whether the ingredients will continue to be allowed.

The Organic Foods Protection Act of 1990 says that for foods to be labeled organic, they must be grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and animals raised for food must be free from growth hormones and antibiotics and have access to the outdoors.

But the USDA's interpretation of the law had allowed the use of some nonorganic substances. In 2005 a federal judge said that the USDA was inappropriately applying the 1990 law and gave the agency two years to revise its rules regarding the ingredients. Unless the USDA approves all of the items on the 38-item list, manufacturers of foods that are currently labeled "USDA organic" and contain those nonorganic ingredients would be required to change their labels.

As one organic food proponent told the Times, it seems unlikely that agency officials would make a decision requiring such labeling changes "even though that's what they should do."

It is ridiculous that a federal judge had to intervene in an issue that should be a matter of common sense. The USDA should not allow nonorganic ingredients to be used in foods labeled as "organic."

Consumers have a right to know what is in the foods that they buy and should be able to trust that items labeled as "USDA organic" are free of chemicals and pesticides.