All stores that sell organic food and organically produced products are not created equal. There are a couple of things that you need to know before your first shopping trip to a store that advertised organic food and other “green” products.

First, the term “organic” does not mean exactly what you would think that it means. A product that is labeled “organic” may not mean that it is totally organic. Learn to recognize these terms:

• “Certified Organic”: The “certified organic” label means that the product has been produced adhering to the organic standards mandated by the government of the United States.
• “Organic”: The label “organic” means that the product contains at least 95% organic materials. Foods that are imported from abroad, for example, may be labeled “organic” if they meet the organic standards of their country of origin. But that doesn’t mean that those standards are as stringent as the standards of the United States. There is a big variation between organic standards from country to country.
• “100% Organic”: This is a label that is sometimes put on single-ingredient products like apples or oranges. It simply means that the fruit or vegetable was grown without the use of chemicals.
• “Made with organic ingredients”: This term means that 70% of the ingredients are organic. The claim can appear on the front of package but must name the specific ingredients.
• “Contains organic ingredients”: This term means that the product contains less than 70% organic ingredients.

Labels can be deceiving. You have to understand the language and the labeling so that you know exactly what you are buying. There are fines and penalties for mislabeling products as organic when they are in fact not organic.