"standard" news and stories

Even though the ban on fresh bagged and loose leaf spinach from this past September's E. coli scare is long over, the shake that it put on consumer confidence in leafy greens is still there. Even now, consumers are avoiding greens, or buying them less frequently than they otherwise would. A study done at Rutgers found that part of the problem lies in the fact that spinach and other greens are considered to be healthy and that consumers almost feel betrayed by the fact that something wholesome could actually be harmful. This new suspicion is what is keeping sales down. In fact, only 2 out of 3 consumers contacted during the survey knew that the recall was over.

Farms and government agencies alike are looking for ways to mitigate the worries of consumers with oversight at both farm and national levels being discussed. Whether a new standard will be enough to boost consumer confidence to the point where the average diner doesn't look askance at a salad with baby spinach in it remains uncertain. Would it be enough for you?

At the moment, there is no federal standard for labeling fish as "organic." While cows, pigs, chickens and all sorts of other animals can easily meet existing standards by being fed specific types of food and not getting any hormones or antibiotics added to them, fish are much harder to pin down. Part of the problem lies in the fact that many fish are carnivorous and because there are currently no organic fish, they cannot eat organic feed. Additionally, to ensure that fish are only eating organically, which is not a problem for herbivorous fish, they must be supervised and receive specific feed. If fish have to be supervised to get the "organic" designation, that means that wild fish will not qualify, which is a sticking point for those who actually fish wild fish.

Scientists and environmentalists, however, agree that the organic label should not be applied to wild fish, reminding people that "organic" refers to a type of agriculture and the catching of wild fish is not agriculture.

The debate on both sides has been ongoing for years now and, even when a consensus is reached, it will probably take a couple more years for fisheries to meet the chosen USDA standards and get their products in the market.

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