by Mark Cammack. MS May 2, 2018
At this Aldi store the purity of organic produce has been maintained. There are no chemical odors from cleaning agents, fragranced detergents, or pesticides on the foods.
Customers pay more for organic items in part because of a higher perceived product value. With a demand for healthy foods grown in accordance with nature, a booming market has arisen. The consumer should receive their money's worth.
Different stores carrying natural and organic foods have various practices regarding food handling, transportation, and refrigeration or display maintenance. While shopping at both a huge discount department store and mega grocery, I noticed that some organic foods were placed in common refrigeration units. When picking up vegetables for a closer look, they reeked of the smell of chemical cleaner used on the coolers. They were no longer truly organic.
On the store shelves in the organic and natural foods areas, boxes and bags of crackers, cereals and flour emitted an artificial fragrance. Some of these containers were permeable, meaning that the chemicals were being absorbed by the food itself. When I asked about the cause of this, a worker told me that everything comes in on trucks and it is all shipped together. The reason for contamination was most likely due to long distance transportation with chemical cleaners and fragranced detergents that were enclosed with food items. The vehicles may also be cleaned with strong smelling cleaners. Upon further research, claims arose that some trucks lines sprayed the cargo area with pesticides. In any case, the organic edibles were being compromised. They were being contaminated with substances that should not be present on any food, especially organic.
Even if we have the most sincere farmers and food manufacturers, the items are only as intact as warehouses, transporters and grocers allow. The solution is to have competent handling procedures so that the consumer receives what they pay for. In the meantime, some stores are better than others regarding keeping organic foods organic.
Images
Organic foods photo taken by author is © Copyright 2018-2019 Mark Cammack. All rights reserved.
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