Popular questions on organic food
Frequently asked questions
So, what exactly do you get when you choose an organic product? Our organic team have answers to your most frequently asked questions…
Organic food is produced free-from artificial pesticides and grown without genetic modification and there are fewer additives in organic groceries. As well as this, organic farming involves higher animal welfare standards, protects wildlife, results in lower pollution from sprays and produces less carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas.
Very few people eat a fully organic diet but there are good reasons to include at least some organic choices in your diet. Eating some organic food reduces your exposure to artificial pesticides. So it depends why you are choosing organic food:
- If it’s for taste reasons...
In a recent poll conducted by the Soil Association, 72% said fruit and vegetables tasted better than non-organic produce and 71% said they’d preferred the taste of organic meat.
- If it’s to reduce your pesticide intake...
Eating organic food is the best way of reducing your exposure to potentially harmful artificial pesticides.
- If it’s for animal welfare reasons...
If you are concerned about animal welfare and antibiotic residues in meat and milk then it is best to stick to organically produced.
When people first get interested in going organic they tend to choose “primary produce” like fruit and vegetables, dairy products (especially milk) and meat. However as people realise the many benefits of buying organic they begin to explore other areas such as organic chocolate and organic wine. Some of our customers want to extend their organic lifestyles beyond the food they eat and they have begun to buy organic beauty products and even organic clothes.
Organic fruit, vegetables and meat cost more to produce because they are more labour intensive and take longer to grow or rear. Some of the extra cost comes from higher animal welfare standards – animals are given more space to roam about, which means more land is needed. Many organic animals are traditional, slower-growing breeds. And because there’s no use of synthetic pesticides, organic farming often requires more traditional farming – for example weeding by hand instead of spraying with pesticides. But most customer buying organic products think it’s worth paying the extra.
‘To check that a product is organic, look for the certification body code or the organic symbol.
Click here for a full list of the UK organic certification bodies.
All eight UK organic certifying bodies operate to at least UK organic standards, as laid out by the
Compendium of Organic Standards.
Every organic product must carry a 'Certification Code' (for the UK certifying bodies it begins ‘UK…’), but there is no legal requirement for a product to carry the logo of the organic certifying body. Organic certifying bodies inspect everyone in the product supply chain, from farmers through to manufacturers, to check they are meeting organic standards. Every year they conduct rigorous annual inspections of all the farms and food producers that they license to ensure that organic food is being produced according to the organic legislation.
However, similar organic standards apply throughout the EU, so organic food and drink produced in a European country and imported into the UK is checked to make sure it complies with at least UK organic legislation. The UK government to make sure it reaches EU standards also checks organic food imported into the UK from outside the EU.
Currently about 90% of all Sainsbury’s organic potatoes, apples, carrots and onions, and 100% of eggs, milk, pork, beef and chicken (and lamb from September 2007) is sourced from the UK. We recognize that for some customers it does not make sense to buy organic food that has been flown from a long way away. However only around 2% of fresh fruit and vegetables are imported into the UK in this way – most organic produce imported into the UK comes by sea and by road. Organic ingredients may be imported into the UK from elsewhere in Europe where larger quantities of better quality products are sometimes available. For example, the UK climate makes it difficult for producers to grow organic top fruit such as apples and pears all year round.
For more information go to on 'The concept of “food miles” through a sustainable development lens', click here.
In order to preserve the organic integrity of our produce and stop it getting muddled up with non-organic produce we package and label our organic fruit and vegetables to avoid confusion. Some products, like delicate fruit, need packaging to protect it and stop it getting damaged. Where we do use packaging we are working to make sure it is as environmentally friendly as possible. 90% of Sainsbury’s SO organic produce packaging is now either home compostable, recycled or recyclable. In 2001 we were the first supermarket to launch fully home compostable packaging with breakthrough biodegradable trays on some of our organic produce. Our award winning Sainsbury’s SO organic range launched in 2005 with compostable packaging such as sugar trays, flow wrap film, labels and netting, all made from non petroleum, sustainable and renewable sources. Also we ensure that all our compostable packaging is made from non-genetically modified materials.
High standards of animal welfare in organic farming minimise the need for antibiotics and other veterinary drugs, which are used only when strictly necessary on an organic farm. Organically farmed animals must have space to roam, and animals like chickens generally spend more of their lives outside, in smaller flocks. One of the ways organic standards differ from “free range” is that smaller flock sizes are stipulated, which helps ensure healthier chickens.’
You can find more information at the Compassion In World Farming Charity (CIWF) website.
The nervous, circulatory and reproductive systems all develop fast in children and it’s vital that there’s nothing to disrupt them during the growth phase. Buying organic food is one way to reduce the chances that your family’s food will contain pesticides, and also their intake of artificial additives.
All baby food – organic or otherwise – is covered by special legislation. Preservatives, colourings and added salt are forbidden because babies can’t process them. Having a baby is one of the biggest triggers for people going organic; many parents choose to start buying organic baby food to ensure their peace of mind. Organic baby food is one of the most popular organic items with over half of all baby food sold being organic.
In July 2006, the Soil Association released a report showing that in the previous year the UK market had increased by 30 per cent, a three-fold rise on the previous year to total almost £1.6 billion in sales – averaging an extra £7 million a week. To put this in perspective, the annual current growth for all UK food and drink sales is around 3 per cent. The numbers and range of people buying organic food have also risen, with two out of three consumers now knowingly buying organic food (65.4 per cent) as well as those owith a lower household income are buying organic food and drink - putting to rest the old stereotype of organic being only for the well-to-do.
Further reading visit the Soil Association website.
As we understand more about the environmental impact of different farming systems we can say more about the carbon footprint and sustainability of the different ways in which we can produce food. A number of studies have suggested that organic farming is better for wildlife, causes lower pollution from sprays, and produces less carbon dioxide and less dangerous wastes. However, the environmental impact of importing food over long distances can reduce some of these benefits. Similarly a non-organic tomato grown in the UK under glass and heated using oil could have a higher carbon footprint than a non-organic tomato grown in the sunshine in the Mediterranean.
In both cases, it is important to consider all aspects of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) ‘from seed to fork’ to ensure that we are comparing like with like and seeing the full picture. These are complicated issues and more research is needed, however if you are concerned about limiting climate change and reducing your carbon footprint then buying organic food is generally a very helpful measure, particularly if it has been locally grown.
If you would like to read more about the environmental inpacts on food production and consumption, click here.
if you would like to know more on organic farming and the environment, click here.
While there is no UK data for the overall global warming impact of organic farming, there is now data on energy use from Defra-funded studies (Pretty et al). These show organic farming is overall more energy efficient than non-organic farming. This is mainly because it does not use nitrogen fertilisers, which are produced from petro-chemicals in an energy-intensive process. Typically organic farming is about 30% more energy efficient for producing the same quantity of food.
Overall, organic farming appears better for tackling climate change than industrial agricultural methods. As well as the lower average energy use, organic farming also avoids the very large nitrous oxide emissions from fertiliser manufacture (a powerful greenhouse gas, 300 times as warming as carbon dioxide). Additionally, organic farming builds up soil carbon, removing it from the atmosphere. The higher soil organic matter levels of organic systems also improves the adaptability of farming to climate change, meaning widespread organic farming could play an important role in reducing the impacts of climate change on society. Higher soil organic matter levels significantly improve the drainage and water retention of soil, reducing the risk of flooding and the effects of drought on food production.
Further reading on Environmental impacts of food Production and consumption, click here.
Whilst there is a lot of common ground between organic and Fairtrade the two are not the same thing. At Sainsbury’s we are keen to bring the two together wherever we can, for example with our SO organic Fairtrade Chocolate Bars. Products grown to the standards of the Fairtrade Foundation seek to avoid 12 key pesticides.
Updated: July 2007
