Look at the study you quoted: Just 571 samples nationwide of foods that already bore the USDA Organic seal isn't very extensive. Even then 23 samples (4%) were out of compliance and 39% showed some pesticide residue but were under the USDA limit. The study tested only for pesticides, not fertilizers, hormones (used to improve fruit set), preservatives, or residues from other products such as cleaners and disinfectants used on processing, handling and storage equipment.
I never said that half of the foods labeled USDA Organic weren't compliant. Perhaps I could have stated it more clearly, but the warning from the USDA was that there are huge quantities of food is being sold as "organic" that has not been certified by the USDA and does not bear the USDA Organic seal. If 4% of the USDA Organic certified foods are out of compliance, imagine the percentage of the non-certified "organic" foods that are out of compliance.
The USDA in 2011 issued a warning to consumers that the individual products themselves, not just store signage, should bear the USDA Organic seal, and anything sold as organic that did not have the USDA seal was not certified. While there are organic producers, mainly small local producers, who raise produce under the organic guidelines but which do not bear the USDA Organic seal, the USDA also pointed out that there is widespread misuse of the regulated term "organic". In the nearest city to where I live, there are a dozen farmers markets, several health food stores and co-ops, and numerous seasonal road side stands, as well as guys selling everything from seafood to citrus out of refrigerator and freezer trucks in parking lots. Many of them make verbal claims of having "organic" product and fairly often you even see printed signage on bulk product in cardboard boxes, baskets, and plastic bins.
Restaurants are frequently cited for misusing the term "organic" often slipping under the radar by using claims along the lines of "made with organic produce" when only one or two ingredients on the plate are actually USDA certified organic.
WalMart a few years ago was accused of the widespread practice of placing "natural", "pesticide free" and other less regulated, non-organic certified products in its "organic" section with large green signs overhead and smaller "organic" signs on the shelves next to products which were not USDA certified. Co-mingling and mishandling of organic produce is also a very common violation among retailers. Numerous food wholesalers and retailers have been cited for using unapproved cleaners, pesticides, and chemicals to preserve freshness and appearance on or around produce that left the processing plant USDA organic certified.
Foods from overseas, particularly shellfish and other seafood, as well as produce and packaged food items, have been flooding into ethnic markets with "organic" labeling from other countries which do not meet USDA standards.
Buying USDA Organic certified foods with labels and original packaging is a reasonable assurance, but still doesn't protect you from mishandling at the transit or retail level. Buying bulk produce that is not individually labeled, prepared foods that list "organic" on the menu, or from private sellers with hand-lettered "organic" signs on bushel baskets is a crap shoot at best.
The real deal
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