Hi Klaus and everybody,
I think Sal's suggestion about who to check is worth considering imo.
What I probably should have told about the farmer market that I go to
here is that it is a certified organic market. Only certified farmers
and certified products are allowed (officially).( Here, something may
only be called organic if it is certified so claims without the label is
illegal) The farmers sell both their own produce and also produce which
they buy from the one distributor in organic fruits, vegetables and
dairy. (Import/export so different organic labels). When I worked as a
caterer, I always bought my stuff there so I know a little how things go
there. (btw the BD produce was visibly the best, but most foods were of
very good quality).
We have one certifying agency (SKAL) in the Netherlands and of course
also Demeter. SKAL also does the controls which mean (offically) two
unannounced visits per year per farmer/company. Some controls are only
being done administratively (for example GE contamination!). More
controls would of course also mean more costs. Still, I am happy with
certification, it psychologically puts one a bit more at ease. But it's
also tricky, because the system is open for intentional or unintentional
fraud. .The distributors also play a very important role. A dishonest
distributor can do a lot of damage.
Some time ago I checked with state health agency responsible for
foodcontrol whether they found residues on organic vegetables. Their
answer was they do not check often anymore because they never found
something. (Nevertheless, even in my own veggie garden 300m2 at a former
BD farm, I experience the contamination with artificial fertilizer and
pesticide drift from a neigbouring farmer and to make things worse
sometimes oil in the air from Schiphol Airport). So, I know (organic)
farming also has to put up with a lot of environmental pollution. These
pollutors and contaminators actually should pay for the damage they
cause. Organic limits and standards are being stretched by some of the
newcomers, farmers and companies (supermarkets) The board of the
certication agency has more and more members from non-organic
foodsector. Small authentic orgnaic companies are being bought up by
mainstream companies and even TNC's. To me it is more important to keep
up the standards and to educate newcomers than it is to control those
farmers who have proven to work honestly.
regards
wytze
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