Health scares such as BSE and foot-and-mouth, plus fears of GM crops/food and synthetic dyes and ingredients such as Sudan1 have led to considerable growth in the organic and the healthy food market as worried consumers seek out more healthy and natural products.
Recent research by market analysts nVision suggests four in ten adults now choose organic options on a regular basis. Organic supermarkets in England are boming and Europes biggest organic event, the Biofach exhibition in Germany in getting bigger every year.
Unfortunately, at the moment retailers are charging artificially high prices. I was in Tesco last week which is a rare occurrence as I shop locally where possible, and I nearly died when I saw the prices being charged for organic yogurt and eggs compared to the non-organic brands. Its about time that the government started to investigate these organic suppliers and supermarkets to see who is ripping us off! Encouraging competition is not always a good idea as this can drives down prices (good for the consumer) which can put organic suppliers out of business if they have small profit margins. I understand that we have to pay more for organic produce because there are more crop failures due to the fact that the farmers cannot use pesticides, but what is an acceptable percentage and does this vary from product to product. Should organic fish be 10 percent more expensive than non organic fish and vegetables 20 per cent etc?
Once only available in small health shops or farmers markets, organic foods are becoming much more widely available. In the past 10 years sales of organic food in the UK have increased over 10-fold from ?100m in 1993/94 to nearly ?1.4bn in 2004/05. This large growth is predicted to continue, and many companies are jumping into the market. Sales through farmers markets and farm shops have grown faster than any other retail outlet. Organic food and drink now accounts for 1.2 per cent of the total retail market (Source Soil Association). There are two types of organic foods.
Fresh food
Fresh food is seasonal and perishable. Vegetables and fruits are the most available type of organic, fresh food, and are closely associated with organic farming. They are often purchased directly from growers, at farmers markets, supermarkets or through speciality food stores. Organic meat, eggs, dairy are also available.
Processed food
Processed food accounts for most of the items in a supermarket. Often, within the same store, both organic and conventional versions of products are available, and the price of the organic version is usually higher as already mentioned. Most processed organic food comes from larger companies producing and marketing products like organic baby food, organic beer, organic pasta or other convenience foods.
How do I know its organic?
The term organic is defined by law - all organic food production and processing is governed by a strict set of rules. Look for symbols such as the Soil Association symbol for your guarantee of the highest organic standards. The Soil Association organic symbol is the UK's largest and most recognisable trademark for organic produce. Wherever you see it you can be sure that the food you have purchased has been produced and processed to strict and rigorous animal welfare and environmental standards. Other symbols to look out for include the Organic Food Federation and Certified Organic Ingredients.
Most people dont have enough time to read the labels of all the different food products that they buy to check for organic ingredients. So look for the various symbols, you can then be sure that the product complies with minimum government standards.
The use of such symbols is entirely optional and a product can still be organic even though if it doesnt carry the symbol of a certifying body. That means if you want to be 100% satisfied that what you are eating or using is organic always read the label or speak to the vendor.
Where you will find the symbol? - Look out for organic symbols on almost any kind of food and drink you can think of from fresh produce like fruit, vegetables and meat to processed foods such as bread or baby food. You can even buy organic pet food!
One latest characteristics of the British market is undeniable: the evermore evident increase in the number of organic products. This represents a major problem from the vendor’s point of view, since they will find it difficult to keep their sale figures at the normal rate. The conventional products make up the basics of food industry so this would mean that the most of its offer will become unwanted, leading to a serious financial problem. As in every case in a consumer’s society it’s up to the suppliers to adapt to the demanding of the clients. This will lead to a change in policy and it will trigger the import of organic foodstuffs in order to present fresh merchandise to the costumers all the time. Only through offering the amount of this category of food may the providers hope to gain as much as they have so far. It is beyond doubt that we are witnessing a time of significant changes within the food market. It is expected for new standards to be introduced. This way the current requirements will become obsolete, and these present-day necessities are encountered in most products, which will be useless from now on. Already the new tendencies have given birth to new hierarchies. Nowadays, the agency which is expected to have the greatest success is Netto, with a market share of 16.6 per cent. Even so the current demanding is higher, so it has set to collaborate with a Swedish producer to cover the buyer’s needs. Claus Juel Jensen, the managing director of Netto said this supermarket chain agency will not decrease its production, but providing a variety of organic products is an upcoming challenge. This new fever all around organic products, including products such as organic wines, it is not a result of the market game. The consumer’s sudden taste for organic food has been awaken by some claims that this type of aliment is healthier and has a richer nutritional value. The first statement has not been agreed upon by all the researches. People have trusted these alleged discoveries and have emptied the nutritional food shelves rapidly. And as the consumers become addicted to something particular the market has to offer, the business runners in the food area must follow them. The greatest problem now is the offer of organic meat. That’s the one chapter where Netto fears it might not keep up with the task. It’s again not about the necessary quantity, it’s the diversity they need to satisfy all tastes. The practices in the farming area, in Denmark for example take too long, in contrast with the dynamically evolving requests of the clients. A farmer must switch to the production of organic meat and then he has to wait for to years to get an organic producer licence. Still, the gains after this switch are higher, if not in the first year, than certainly in the second year of sellings. In conclusion, it’s not unprofitable for producers to engage on launching the new generation of products, the organic ones, it’s just that the industry needs to adapt, for it has to undergo a massive change. A short term inspired measurement would be to increase the prices of the organic brand so the demand for these will undergo a temporary decline.
Both Davinos Greeno & Alison White are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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