Organic logos

How do we identify organic food products over conventional food products? In supermarkets, we can see packed spices and foods with a label "Organic" , "100% Organic" and so on, claiming that its completely or partially organic.

We know that, food products can be labelled "Organic " only if it meets the standards of organic production by the government. Each country has its own standards and so its own logo, I have presented here a few countries organic logo in this post. 

                                                                            INDIA

                                                                             
                                                                                 US

                                                                                                                                                          EUROPEAN UNION 

AUSTRALIA

JAPAN

With these logos on the package, we can understand the product to be organically certified.

Go Organic!!! Live Healthy!!!

Organic Certification in India

We find lots of Organic products and its labelled differently with every brand. So, Its important to know about Organic certification and labelling.

Certification is a process which every farmer, seed supplier or any business directly associated with food production is supposed to get.

The general principles and special requirements vary from country to country.  Every country has a set of standards for growing, processing, storage, packaging and shipping. Only when these standards are met, the products are labelled "ORGANIC"

Some production standards of Organic which are to be met if grown or imported from other countries are:

• Prohibited from constant use of artificial fertilizers and any human sludge fertilizer on cultivation of plant/ animal . 
• Usage of only farmlands which is nutritious rich soil that is free from harmful fertilizer.
• No growth hormones or antibiotics should be given to the animals.
• Synthetic pesticides and radiation must strictly be not practised. 

Thus, According to Organic Certification " Organic Food is produced without using harmful pesticides, fertilizer made with artificial synthetics or human sludge, no usage of growth hormones" 

How is the farmlands certified?

A government approved body/ person inspects the farm where the food is grown to ensure that the farmer adheres to the organic standards for cultivating and processing foods. After which, the farm produce are certified ORGANIC. The companies that process the organic food produce also should follow the guidelines of ORGANIC CERTIFICATION before labelling and supplying to the supermarkets or wholesalers. 

Who certifies Organic foods in INDIA?

There are two accreditation systems for authorizing Certification and Inspection agencies for organic certification. APEDA ( Agriculture and processed food products export development authority) regulates the certification for organic agriculture as per National standards for Organic production. It is one of the APEDA function. The Government implemented program under this is NPOP which stands National Programme for Organic Production. And, National Accreditation Body (NAB) is the apex decision making body. 

NPOP was launched during 2001 under the Foreign Trade and Development Act (FTDR Act).
Scope of NPOP:

• Policies for development and certification of organic products
• national standards for organic products and processes 
• Accreditation of programmes to be operated by Inspection and Certification Agencies
• Certification of organic products

NPOP standards must be followed to be certified as Organic Food in India.The NPOP standards are recognized by European commission, Switzerland and USDA as equivalent to their country standards. So, with these regulations the certified Indian organic products are able to be imported to other countries. 

LIST OF ACCREDITED CERTIFICATION BODIES UNDER NPOP

1.      Bureau Veritas Certification India Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai

2.      ECOCERT India Pvt. Ltd., Aurangabad

3.      IMO Control Pvt. Ltd.

4.      Indian Organic Certification Agency

5.      Lacon Quality Certification Pvt. Ltd., Thiruvalla (Kerala)

6.      OneCert Asia Agri Certification (P) Ltd

7.      SGS India Pvt. Ltd.

8.      Control Union Certifications,Mumbai

9.      Uttarakhand State Organic Certification Agency(USOCA)

10.  APOF Organic Certification Agency

11.  Rajasthan Organic Certification Agency (ROCA)

12.  Vedic Organic Certification Agency

13.  ISCOP (Indian Society for Certification of Organic Products)

14.  Food Cert India Pvt. Ltd

15.  Aditi Organic Certifications Pvt. Ltd

16.  Chhattisgarh Certification Society, India (CGCERT), Raipur

17.  Tamil Nadu Organic Certification Department (TNOCD), Coimbatore

Green Tea: The healthy skin secret

Don't we all love to live the healthy way...? Don't we wish to have an healthy skin with ages...? Well we are human beings and wants to have our skin radiant and glowing as long as we live. But with ageing and our food habits, its highly impossible.

Let me introduce you to The Healthy skin secret :  Organic Green Tea which is gaining popularity for its great benefits in weigh loss, skin care and maintenance.

Organic Green Tea is a type of tea which is harvested and quickly preserved. Green tea leaves are immediately heated to prevent OXIDATION. Oxidation is a natural process that happens when you slice an apple and it turns brown and sweet when its exposed with oxygen in the air.

Its that Anti Oxidants that keeps the Green Tea a much wanted drink. Green tea is packed with lots of anti oxidants which benefits the body in many ways.

BENEFITS:
1.Helps with weight loss
2.The diuretic effect of green tea gets rid of excess body fluids.
3.The trusty anti oxidants helps your skin outside in also by protecting from harmful sun rays, tones skin, hair and prevents wrinkles when applied topically.
4.Recent studies have shown promising effects of green tea in certain disease prevention like multiple sclerosis, cancer and Parkinson's disease.
5.It serves as a refreshing and stimulating drink.
6.Reduces stress, boost immunity and hydrates the body.
7.Reduces the risk of heart diseases, blood sugar and blood pressure.

In Later posts I shall write about the recipes and  face care with green tea.

I now guess, all that big fuss about this healthy secret is answered here. So stop wondering and start drinking. Check out the tasty Organic Green Tea Recipes below in the link.

Happy Reading!!
Ree

Starter Shopping guide to buy Organic veggies and fruits

We all have started hearing a lot these days about buying organic vegetables and fruits which saves us from the big dose chemicals and pesticides that we consume over conventional vegetables and fruits. We find big shelf's of organic pulses and stocks from different brands in our daily supermarkets claiming high health standards. Are they really worth the label is a question which arises in anyone mind for paying those extra rupees than the conventional produce.

Yes, they are worth more than what it claims. I am giving you a short starter guide to buy organic vegetables and fruits through which you can yourself benefit from buying organic.

Presenting you the list of dirtiest fruits and vegetables that's best only when brought organic

• Potatoes
• Spinach
• Grapes
• Celery
• Peaches
• Strawberry
• Apples
• Blueberries
• Bell peppers
• Cherries

By going organic in these veggies and fruits, we can see a considerable amount of difference in the food we consume. 

There are other vegetables and fruits that have natural defence against these toxins as we can peel the outer skin or heat. Buying regular way of these produce will save money and save yourself from harmful contaminants.

The list of foods we can buy regular

• Onion
• Sweet Corn
• Avocado
• Pineapples
• Mango
• Sweet Peas
• Cabbage
• Bananas
• Eggplant
• Broccoli
• Kiwi
• Asparagus

Hope this starter shopping guide is a path to start being organic. 

EAT ORGANIC,

Ree