insideKENT Magazine Issue 37 - April 2015

6. Everything can be organic Food might be the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘organic’, but pretty much everything can be made from organic materials, at least in part. Clothing, furniture, paper, cosmetics, flowers and much more can be made from organic fibres, and therefore certified organic. 7. Pesticides are possible Just because something is organic, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t been treated with some kind of pesticide. It probably has, otherwise, with the number of bugs and grubs around it wouldn’t have made it to your kitchen in the first place. However, the pesticides used on organic food have to be certified as non-synthetic, or the food itself can’t be labelled organic. 8. Know your stuff If you are not buying organic, you might like to know that apples, celery, peaches, strawberries, spinach, grapes, lettuce, cucumbers, kale, blueberries, peppers and potatoes contain the highest levels of pesticides, whereas onions, sweetcorn, avocados, asparagus, aubergine, sweet potatoes and mushrooms have the lowest levels. Milk, however, has been shown to contain the same amount of contaminants, whether it is organically or conventionally produced. Whether or not milk is pasteurised is a much more important issue. 61 9. Organic fish does not exist There is simply no such thing as organic fish, at least not if it comes direct from the sea. There is in fact an EU directive that says that nothing caught or harvested from the wild can have an organic label – and that makes sense, as it is impossible to know the history behind the specific creature that is captured without resorting to expensive tests. Farmed fish can potentially be called organic, but only if the water they are kept in is treated, and not exposed to the outside world. 10. 100% organic vs. organic vs. made with organic ingredients Checking the labels of the things you buy is an important part of ensuring you are getting exactly what you want – as long as you know what the labels all mean. Something that is labelled as 100% organic will have no non-organic components in it, but something labelled as simply organic can have up to 5% of its components that are non-organic (this doesn’t include salt and water). A label that states 'Made with Organic Ingredients' will mean that the product contains at least 70% of organic components.

insideKENT Magazine Issue 37 - April 2015 | Page 61