Does the sticker residue from labels make organic fruit not organic anymore?

Answer 1

There's a legal dimension to your question, and there's a scientific dimension to it.

Let's look first at the legal ramifications.

In several countries, provincial or even national governments have defined "organic food" as a way of helping their citizens purchase food that is really organic, as opposed to greenwashed junk food.

If you happen to live in the United States, the Federal Department of Agriculture regulates and certifies organic food, and some states do as well, such as California. Federal law (spelled out in over 500 pages of Title 7 Part 205 -- National Organic Program), as well as USDA regulations written pursuant to law, spell out what can and can't be added TO, IN, or ON organic foods. Presumably, this includes stickers directly applied to the edible parts of the food.

Now, an ethical and careful organic food processor would exercise an abundance of caution when attaching stickers to fruit, ensuring that the stickers contain only those substances authorized by law to be "ON" organic foods. Let me point out that the government lists should be sufficient to allow a clever chemist to formulate a workable sticker, from adhesive to ink.

If you're troubled by the sticker in this case, you'll probably need to take it up with your elected representatives, or have a ton of money for a lawsuit, or both. Otherwise, you'll enjoy your fruit knowing that you're eating the most organic item the law affords you at this point.

A more mendacious organic grower may decide that the sticker he applies to your peach or apple does not substantively adulterate the food, and may simply disregard whatever materials the labels happen to be made from. He may be able to make a pretty good legal argument that his stickers don't change the organic nature of the food under the law, even if they contain an adhesive or dye not listed in the NOP.

If this scenario is a concern for you, you'll have a somewhat easier time changing things, but only somewhat. There's a very good chance that the government will consider the non-organic label a "de-minimus" issue, and simply ignore it. You might, as a practical matter, ignore it too.

Now let's consider, scientifically, what you're trying to accomplish when you buy and eat organic food, and whether or not a non-organic (but otherwise conventional and legal) fruit sticker would represent a obstacle.

What many and perhaps most people want when they buy organic is some peace of mind that synthetic chemicals and drugs, whose human and environmental consequences are either unknown or known and bad, are not present in the purchased items to any significant degree. Some people would go a step farther, and will purchase organic in order to encourage a more sophisticated environmentally informed scheme of agriculture and consumption in the society in which they live.

So the question is, in the worst case, just how big a compromise is that non-organic sticker on your organically grown pear?

Without considering the exact chemical nature of commercial fruit stickers, you could take the position (a rather trusting position, I'd say) that whatever they're made from, the diminishment of the "organic" status of your food is de minimus, and, accordingly, ignore them. Otherwise, it would be incumbent on you to determine exactly what was in the labels, and to act accordingly.

Since different food processors use different fruit stickers, a general answer about the practical effect of these stickers on the sanctity of your food does not exist. We can, however assist in evaluating the risk, if you are able to provide a specific formula or composition for a food sticker you're concerned about (we also need to know what fruit it's applied to, and under what conditions -- heat, moisture, and so forth).

I suggest you contact your friendly organic processor and ask them to tell you all about their stickers. We'll be standing by to discuss what you find out.