You may have seen organic products at your local supermarket, but have you ever really considered what it means to be organic? WH asked Ian Robinson, owner of organic directory and info site www.go-organic.co.za to clear things up for us.

What Does Organic Mean, Anyway?

The term organic refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. It relies on a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilisers. An organic agriculture relies on non-chemical inputs and ecologically sustainable techniques to maintain soil productivity and control pests.

Consider what conventional agriculture does to a field: heavy ploughing disturbs the soil and the microbial activity is damaged by exposure to the sun. This has to be rectified and agro chemicals are used in a failed attempt to restore the soil’s health and nutritional value. So, what’s grown in that soil is less than healthy. Pests and diseases later arrive which requires further fixing and toxic pesticides and fungicides are applied.

Sadly, the resulting crops are what most South Africans consume – produce that has less nutritional value than it should and may be carrying residual agro chemical toxins.

Am I Getting the Real Organic Deal?

A certified organic product’s packaging will carry the symbol (usually about one to two cm in size) of one of the international organic certifying bodies. In South Africa examples we often see are Ecocert and OKO Garantie.

This shows that every input in the making of that certified organic product has been certified and traceable, whether it’s the cocoa beans in organic chocolate, what the chickens ate that laid the organic eggs or the oats in the organic muesli.

The factories and handling of organic products are also regulated and will have been inspected to ensure that they, for example, don’t contaminate the organic products with conventional products or toxins like rat poison.

Organic agriculture is internationally regulated and legally enforced by a growing number of nations. Regulations are guided in large part by IFOAM (the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements established in 1972), the FAO (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN) and the WHO (World Health Organization).

You can also try your local markets.

Ian’s Top Three Organic Buys

1. Chickens are top my list. Many mass produced chickens live in such unhealthy conditions that they require routine, mass medication with antibiotics. Otherwise if one chicken gets sick, in no time millions around it may get sick and die or have to be destroyed. Residual antibiotics are harmful to us. It’s not easy to get organic chickens yet in South Africa so look for chickens that are not given routine antibiotics. Don’t be misled by 'Free Range' – this is no guarantee of what the chickens are fed.

2. Processed fruit and vegetables (i.e. not fresh). The skins and surfaces (think spinach and lettuce) of conventional produce can be contaminated by residual toxins which find their way into the fruit juice, soup, canned or frozen vegetables. If you can only get conventional, peel them. Rinsing helps but does not eliminate pesticides, so eating the skin (like Mom used to say) is more harmful than good if toxins contaminate it.

3. Meat and dairy. Livestock that grazes on pastures contaminated by harmful agro chemicals will also be contaminated with some of the highest concentrations of pesticides and non-organic butter carries the highest concentrations. Find a local butcher that supplies safely reared meat.

For a useful list of the most and least contaminated see www.foodnews.org

For more on what foods have the lowest and highest pesticide levels get the March issue of Women's Health magazine.