Nowadays, food has become a great concern for many people, due to the health problems that are faced. Processed products full of chemicals have proven to be harmful to our health, but this has led many companies to take the opportunity to produce supposedly healthy products with labels that make them more popular, such as bio, eco and organic food.
But do we really know what the difference between bio, eco and organic? On many occasions we think that it is the same thing. That is, from natural foods that are grown without chemical processes. But there are some differences between them that we should know to know what we really buy.
The legislation
Consumers have established differences between these foods, but at the legal level it is understood that they are the same, although what can really be sold as such are the so-called organic products. According to European regulations, products that are sold as ecological must bear the seal that identifies them. This is the legal part, since beyond this, there are other stamps that are approved by other countries, since for example in France there are organic farming stamps. Outside of the regulations there are foods that can be totally organic but cannot be sold as such if it is not paid for, and currently there is intensive production in greenhouses of products that are organic according to the regulations, something that surprises many, but if the requirements are met, they can bear the seal. Another thing is that the taste is like that of totally natural products that we could plant in a garden.
Green products
Organic products are those that focus on be respectful with the environment in its production. That is, they use renewable resources, are respectful with animals and the environment and try to create the least impact on nature. We also refer to products that have not used fertilizers, chemicals or transgenic in their production. Ecological is something more global, which tells us about products that are totally natural.
Biological products
These types of products are those that they have not suffered any genetic alteration or pesticide. They are products that have bio labels, although these are not approved by European regulations. There are other types of organizations that can generate labels of this type to certify the products as such.
Organic products
This type of products they must not use chemicals, pesticides or be genetically manipulated. They refer mainly to foods such as vegetables, fruits or legumes, although they can include all kinds of foods.
How to buy
In general these three definitions are used interchangeably. Only the ecological products can be certified by European regulations. If they sell us something organic or bio we have to know that they are talking about foods that have not been produced with chemicals or pesticides and that are not transgenic. Labels and certificates have been created but not at the European level, since each country can have their labels based on their organizations. Reading the products well and seeing the certificates is important so that they do not sell us a hare. And above all we must trust the commerce of before, return to the food markets and buy close and natural products. This type of food does not always have a label or a certificate, but we can certainly see high quality products. In many areas there are also farmer cooperatives that are coming together to offer quality organic produce at a good price to consumers. This way we will have the security of buying something good and close.