ARE “SELF-CLAIMED” ORGANIC PICKLES REALLY ORGANIC?

In today’s market, the label “organic” attracts a lot of attention. This is evident from the impressive growth in the organic food market, which is expected to be worth $320.43 billion by 2025. Over the next decade, it is projected to grow to around 1.02 trillion, with an annual growth rate of 13.70% from 2025 to 2035.

As consumers, people are more concerned about their own lifestyle, diseases, and gut health. This has made them steer toward pickles that are organic - a healthier and a cleaner choice. And for this, people are also willing to pay a premium price on the foods they consume. Regions like Asia, Latin America, and Africa are seeing high double-digit growth in organic food consumption.

But the question is that are all the products that are being marketed under this tag really organic? 

You might have noticed some brands using the term 'organic' in their name or marketing, but here's the thing — just because it says 'organic' doesn’t mean the product is 100% organic.

Common Ways In Which Brands Mislead People:

Using the word “Organic” in the brand name but products are INORGANIC.

Brands nowadays are using the term “Organic” on their labels. But legally, they do not have any approvals by concerning bodies to claim their products to be organic. But as customers, people might fall for these false claims and the brand might generate profits out of this unfair practice.

Selling ONLY 1 Organic Product but the range of products is INORGANIC.

By selling a few certified organic products, brands might claim the whole range of their products to be organic. This might create an air in the market that the brand genuinely sells organic products.

Using ONLY 1 or few ingredients which is Organic.

If a brand markets its pickle by showing “made with organic ingredients”, it does not mean the pickle is 100% organic. They might use some of the ingredients that are organic but some usage of inorganic products might be there.

No OFFICIAL CERTIFICATES to back the claim.

If a brand says that the pickle is “organic”, it is the duty of the brand to back it by means of some approvals and certificates. It gives a feeling of authenticity to the customers that they are not paying for pickles that are not worth the price.

Getting a certificate to sell Organic products but selling INORGANIC products even after.

At times certificates issued by the bodies are for a company as a whole, the company might exploit it. They might start producing inorganic pickles after they get the certificate and display those products under the organic brand label.

Marketing company owns Organic Certifications but Not Manufacturing vendor.

FSSAI requires all entities in the entire product supply chain to be listed on product labels. At times it is observed that a Marketing company might be using its certifications to claim the entire product organic, however the manufacturing vendor did not have organic certifications and even the product was not organic.

Following Points Need To Be Fulfilled For The "Organic" Tag

1. All (100%) of the fruits and vegetables used in the pickle should be organic.
2. Ingredients used for the fermentation should be organic.
3. The process should not involve usage of any artificial preservatives, sweeteners, or colours.
4. It might sound exaggerated, but even the detergents used in the cleaning of utensils in the process of preparation should be organic.
5. Certifications from bodies like National Program for Organic Production (NPOP) and Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India), or Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) are mandatory.

Summing It Up - What Should We Keep In Mind?

As a conclusion, we get to know that to become a certified organic pickle seller in India involves a process that generally individuals and some brands cannot easily complete. There are some credible bodies in India like NPOP and APEDA that issue certificates to the organisations that are genuine. 

In India, the shift in the organic market is in process and might take some time for both the consumers and the brands to settle in during this transition period. 

As a consumer, you can check the following while making a purchase:

• The brand has a clean label. By clean label we mean the brand showcases all the ingredients used in the process along with the quality.
• The product is free from chemicals and preservatives and it is highlighted in the label. We here at FarmDidi sell pickles that do not contain any chemical preservatives and are made with premium ingredients.
• You should also look for the certifications like “fssai lab testing report”, “fssai food compliance”, etc to increase the credibility.
• If a brand claims their pickles to be organic, check the authenticity of those claims.