I’ve done quite a bit of detective work in the last few weeks about organic and China. One guy I talked to who is some kind of honcho in a company that imports “organic” food from China told me that some organic [sic] growers seem (note the word SEEM) clean, and others are a joke. He imports mung, sunflower and pumpkin seeds and buckwheat from China, supposedly from one grower or one area anyway near Mongolia far away from industry. He thinks they’re okay, or so he said.
The imported food (from this company) is tested for microbes but NOT for any kind of chemicals.
In order to be able to have the “organic” stamp, all any country needs to do is basically show the US some paperwork that looks similar to what organic farmers here actually have to do. No one checks, no one knows. Any food from China (and I use that term loosely) is completely suspect.
This man also told me that in the last 20 months the entire organic peanut industry has more or less collapsed and now all organic [sic again] peanuts are from China.
I will admit I ordered mung and buckwheat from Azure Standard* that are imported by this other company because the man I spoke with sounded trustworthy.
It’s beyond insane to import so much food at all, what to speak from China.
*Azure Standard delivers to most western states, they have all kinds of natural and organic bulk foods and other stuff, all the way from all kinds of grains and cereals, cheeses, kitchen tools, sweeteners, beans, canned organic stuff, just lots of stuff. Their prices are very good and they don’t charge for deliver as long as the order is $400 total.
Sounds like the definition I learned in high school chemistry.