AR-News: (U.S.) "organic" fish label doesn't mean much

[Mary Finelli]

CAVEAT PESCOR
In U.S., "Organic" Label on Fish Means Very Little
Daily Grist, April 13, 2004


The "organic" label on some salmon in supermarkets these days doesn't mean 
much.  The National Organics Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
which administers the official organic seal on produce and other foods, has 
not developed standards for fish.  "We may someday address aquatic species.  
It just hasn't happened," says a USDA spokesperson.  This means fish 
producers and supermarkets label fish based on their own standards -- and 
the "organic" salmon they're selling is, in fact, farm-raised.  While it 
differs from standard farmed salmon in some ways, there's no evidence that 
it contains lower levels of contaminants.  Some stores refuse to use the 
label at all, pending official standards.  The Whole Foods natural foods 
chain, for example, declared in a press release, "we believe that to 
represent such product as organic to our customers would undermine the 
integrity of the organic label."  In Europe, official standards for organic 
fish have been in place for five years; some stateside stores have begun 
importing it to offer customers a genuine organic alternative.

straight to the source:  The Washington Post, Renee Schettler, 07 Apr 2004
http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2303

see also, in Grist:  Good label manners -- not all "eco-labels" are created 
equal -- by Matthew L. Miller, in Soapbox
http://www.gristmagazine.com/soapbox/miller031604.asp?source=daily

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