Organic + China?

You have to wonder, just a bit, if it is safe to eat anything from China.  There have been so many reports from other countries, and ours, of contaminated products coming off of the Chinese shores, that I personally have a rule not to eat food from China.  Awhile back the Goji berry made a huge charge in the US, with products touting its amazing healing properties (I am on the record as saying, there is no such thing as a miracle cure, so far I think time has shown that belief is true most of the time… your whole life added up in summation is the miracle cure… that and God).

So, I like Goji berries, and think they could be good to eat, yet when I went on a search through Whole Foods, i found that all except the pre-frozen, quickly add to your smoothie goji, was all imported from China. Figures.  Goji berries are part of the nightshade family, and grow in and around the Himalaya’s (Tibet, Mongolia and China).  So, sadly, if they are harvested in one of the other non-Chinese countries, they usually make it through China to be processed and gain transport to the USA.  My plan, avoid them!

So then, what about products that come from China, but end up in the US with a USDA Organic stamp on it?  Whole Foods has many, many products that are labeled organic, yet also labeled product of china.  One very funny example, are the “California Blend” vegetables!  Check out that product label below:

So this is the problem.  The USDA does not inspect food that comes in from other countries for organic.  They hire separate contractors for that.  One example is the company whose logo is to the left of the UDS Organic label above.  QAI.  Quality Assurance International, who says they have never certified a product from China (certification requires certifying the farm, not just the product).

This is awful, given that the certification is dependent on 3-5 years of organic farming in the field of question, depending on the product.  It isn’t the product that is really being certified… it is the soil and the origin of the seed.  How in the world can we trust anything coming over from China without actually having a trustworthy organization on site.  If they were to go so far as to tell us that they have a certifier on site, then the next question would be to prove that they are actually checking.  I don’t trust the USDA to do it right, that is why you see me posting about the hierarchy of organic farms here.

So bottom line, don’t you dare buy anything that comes from China, and surely don’t waste any money paying organic prices for it!  Watch this VIDEO of an ABC news production, it will have you concerned!

Be well, hope you join me tonight for the One Night Makeover!  Enjoy Christmas, be in love and loved! – Dr. E