Web Glossary on Bulk Foods and Dutch Valley

Bulk - Unpackaged; loose, in large numbers, amounts, or volume.

Food – any substance taken into the body for providing nourishment - However, factors such as satisfying social needs, achieving psychological ends, and satisfying hunger, more than nutritional needs, govern the selection and consumption of foods. Foods can provide all of the essential nutrients needed for normal functioning of the human body when selected carefully. In this context, food is necessary to provide energy, to provide structural components for building and repairing body tissues, and to regulate body processes.

Wholesale – Wholesaling consists of the sale of goods/merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services. Wholesale is the resale (sale without transformation) of new and used goods. (To retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or professional users, or to other wholesalers, or involves acting as an agent or broker in buying merchandise for, or selling merchandise, to such persons or companies.) Wholesalers frequently physically assemble, sort and grade goods in large lots, break bulk, repack and redistribute in smaller lots, for example pharmaceuticals; store, refrigerate, deliver and install goods, engage in sales promotion for their customers and label design.

Distributor - A wholesaler is an individual, corporation, or partnership buying goods in bulk quantities from a manufacturer at a price close to the cost of manufacturing them and reselling them at a higher price to other dealers, or to various retailers, but not directly to the public.

Organic Food - is, in general, food produced without the use of artificial pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and in many definitions genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In common usage, the word organic can apply equally to store-bought food products, food from a home garden where no synthetic inputs are used, and even food gathered or hunted in the wild. However, the term organic is increasingly associated with certified organic foods, which are produced and labeled according to strictly regulated standards. In many countries, including the United States, Japan and in the European Union, certification is a matter of legislation, and commercial use of the word organic, outside of the certification framework, is illegal. The specifics of certification are the subject of wide debate and disagreement among organic producers and consumers; at present, there is no universally accepted definition of organic food.
Types of organic food
Organic foods can be either fresh or processed, based on production methods, availability and consumer perception.
Fresh food is seasonal and perishable. Fresh produce — vegetables and fruits — is the most available type of organic food, and is closely associated with organic farming. Farmers' markets, farm stands, specialty food stores, and community-supported agriculture (CSA) projects are just a few places where you can buy organic food. Unprocessed animal products — organic meat, eggs, dairy — are less common. Prices are significantly higher than for conventional food, and availability is lower.
For fresh food, "organic" usually means produced without extensive use of synthetic chemicals (e.g. fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones), substantially free of genetically modified organisms, and often, but not necessarily, locally grown.
Processed food accounts for most of the items in a supermarket. Little of it is organic, and organic prices are often high. Despite high prices, supermarkets mainly purchase organic processed foods. Most processed organics comes from large food conglomerates, as producing and marketing products like canned goods, frozen vegetables, prepared dishes and other convenience foods is beyond the scope of small organic producers.
Processed organic food usually contains only (or at least a certain specified percentage of) organic ingredients and no artificial food additives, and is often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions (e.g. no chemical ripening, no food irradiation). However, a recent amendment to the US organic legislation has allowed some synthetic processing agents classified as "organic,” so the exact composition of certified organic processed food may vary according to regional regulations.
Identifying organic food
The National Organic Program (run by the USDA) is in charge of the legal definition of organic in the United States and does organic certification. It administers the Organic Seal to products and producers that meet strict requirements.
Definitions of organic food vary. Organics can be difficult to explain by empirical measurement. Food industry research over the last 50 years has focused on developing chemical agriculture and modern food processing. Also, organics is concerned in large part with what NOT to do -- "as much as possible, let Nature do its thing" -- rather than in devising precise formulas for organic production. A strictly rules-based definition of organic farming and organic food, consisting of approved inputs and practices, created and maintained by regulatory agencies, is inevitably subject to "exceptions" and to special interest pressures to modify the rules. As organics become "whatever the rules say it is,” the line between organic and conventional food can get blurred.
Early organic consumers looked for chemical-free, fresh, or minimally processed food, and they had to buy directly from growers: Know your farmer, know your food. Organic food at first comprised mainly fresh vegetables. Personal definitions of what constituted "organic" were through first-hand experience: talking to farmers and seeing farm conditions and farming activities. Small farms could grow vegetables (and raise livestock) using organic farming practices, with or without certification, and this was more or less something the individual consumer could monitor.
As consumer demand for organic foods continues to increase, high volume sales through mass outlets, typically supermarkets, is rapidly replacing the direct farmer connection. For supermarket consumers, food production is not easily observable, and product labeling, like "certified organic,” is relied on. For assurance, government regulations and third-party inspectors are used.
With widespread distribution of organic food, processed food has also become dominant over fresh, confusing the issue further. Modern food processing is complicated. Commercial preparation methods, the use of additives, the effects of packaging and storage, for instance, are outside the first-hand experience of most people, including organic farmers. Traditional, minimally processed products, baked goods, and canned, frozen, and pickled fruits and vegetables, are easier for consumers to understand by comparison with home preparation methods, although home and mass-production techniques are quite different. For convenience foods, like frozen prepared foods and cooked breakfast cereals, ingredients and methods are quite a mystery to most consumers. A "certified organic" label is usually the only way for consumers to know that a processed product is "organic.”

Legal definition


The official seal of USDA certified organic foods.
In the United States, agricultural products that claim to be "organic" must adhere to the requirements of the Organic Food Production Act of 1990 (found in 7 U.S.C.A. § 6501-22) and the regulations (found in 7 C.F.R. Part 205) promulgated by the USDA through the National Organic Program ("NOP") under this act. A USDA Organic seal identifies products with at least 95% organic ingredients, as defined by the National Organic Program.
Preservatives
Unfortunately, there are no natural models for preserving food the way it's found in supermarkets. Food with a long shelf life is the cornerstone of the food industry, providing most of the revenue and profits. In wealthier locales, an impressive array of technologies is used to make food last longer: home refrigerators and freezers at the consumer end, and industrial and chemical practices applied along the food production chain, from seed to field to fridge or table.
In general, organic standards cover this entire process, specifying what is an "organic" ingredient or practice. However, as there is little natural reference for preparing, for example, a precooked, frozen dinner, a "certified organic" label may be hard to understand. The main ingredients are one thing, the processes and additives used are quite another.
Thus, in developed nations: most of what is in supermarkets today can never be called "organic", in the broadest, "all-natural", fresh or minimally processed sense. The idea is not new, and whole foods have long been part of the health food diet. However, if demand for organics intensifies, agribusiness interests dictate taking as much control as possible of the definition of "organic food,” by including production practices that facilitate food preservation, in order to maintain the existing industry infrastructure.

Selling Organic Products
Retail Guidelines

We, at Dutch Valley, on numerous occasions have been asked questions about organic products from our customers that we are privileged to serve in many parts of the country. In light of these questions, we met with a team of officials from Pennsylvania Certified Organic. This is one of the official groups accredited by the U.S.D.A in carrying out certifications, inspections and compliance issues concerning organics.

As many of our customers are aware, we are a Certified Manufacturer of Organic Products through our Dutch Valley Food Development Company and as such are inspected and accountable to Pennsylvania Certified Organic (P.C.O.) due to the fact that we create and produce organic products. The P.C.O. inspects Dutch Valley Food Development regularly to ensure among other things the assurance of organic integrity.

The following are some of the important questions we brought before the P.C.O. on behalf of both our customers and we at Dutch Valley. We hope this will be helpful in clarifying some of the recent confusion concerning what is a line of products that not only has gained a great deal of popularity recently, but also one that many experts are saying will continue for sometime as more and more of us as consumers want to know that what goes into the products we are eating are natural and organic.

Questions

As a retailer, do I have to be Certified Organic in order to sell organic products?
Answer: No, under the Federal Rules and Regulations on Organics (supplied by P.C.O.), retailers are exempt from certification. It goes on to say that a retail food establishment or portion of a retail food establishment that handles organic food products that are produced but does not process or produce organic products is exempt from certification.

As a retailer, if I want to cook some of the organic soups or meals in my hot foods deli as well as sell the dry products on the shelf do I have to be certified?
Answer: No, again you are exempt from certification as long as you are making the product and selling it on the same premises.

As a retailer can I use the organic symbols/logos to place on the organic products that I package and sell in the store?
Answer: No, as a retailer who handles organic products you are not permitted to use the organic symbols/logos, or any signage that states the product is “certified organic”. In order to use these on the packages in your store you would have to be certified.

If I am not allowed to use the organic symbols/logos am I permitted to use a sticker that has the word organic on it?
Answer: Yes, any sticker that a retailer would like to apply to packages or signage that would either be hung above the display or on the shelf, would be acceptable as long as the organic symbols/logo are not part of the signage.

We have a number of stores but receive all our products at one location and ship products to the various stores from this location. Can we sell organic products under this arrangement?
Answer: Yes, as long as you transfer the products as whole cases and not as products that are individually packaged or re-packed from bulk.

An inspector comes into your store and you are selling organic products as outlined above and they require you to immediately take the organic products off the shelf unless you can prove that you are certified to sell organics. Is this possible?
Answer: As long as you are not using the organic symbol or logo on any packages or on your display signage you are within the guidelines of the U.S.D.A. A suggestion that you should consider, get the specific information on who the inspector is and governing office they represent and follow-up with a call to the officials at Pennsylvania Certified Organics at 609-737-8630 and ask for Emily Brown Rosen who is the Materials Review Manager. She can assist you through this so that you fully understand what is expected and permissible in your given situation.

In our store we use bulk bins, both gravity and scoop. Our customers buy the products and quantities they want from these bins. Can we display the outer label from the original organic packages on the front of the bins or fixtures? The case labels would have the organic symbol/logo on it.
Answer: Yes, this is permitted under the guidelines of the Organic Rules and Regulations as long as it is directly from the organic bulk case and is applied to the outer portion of the bins

Are there regions of the country that Organics appear to be stronger than others that would be helpful in knowing if these products would be of interest to my customers?
Answer: Organics appear to be in higher demand in certain areas of the country such as the upper Midwest, New England and Western States, however ongoing significant growth is forecast long term and expected to filter throughout the country as interest and demand continues to increase.