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From The January/February 2003 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer
The Power of Produce
Fresh foods still biggest segment of organic marketplace
Elaine Lipson
 Organic foods still sometimes suffer from an image problem. They get confused with an old stereotype of "health food" that's hard to swallow, let alone love. But today's reality is that organic foods are often the freshest, most flavorful foods on the shelf.
That's especially true in the produce department, where organic fruits and vegetables can contrast dramatically in appearance and quality with typical conventional offerings. Just a taste of a ripe, in-season organic tomato, bred for flavor, or an ear of fresh organic sweet corn, can be such a vivid experience that it changes a shopper's notion of organic foods forever. Familiar fruits and vegetables that taste better, fresher, more flavorful and more like what we remember from a mother's garden or a childhood farm stand can be a revelation.
For this very reason, many shoppers get turned on to organics in the produce aisle. The possibility of pesticide residues on conventionally grown produce can also make organic produce seem especially desirable. Though we often don't recognize packaged and processed foods as agricultural products that have been grown with chemicals, that connection, and the ensuing risk, is more apparent in the produce aisle.
Studies have shown that the greater proportion of fruits and vegetables in the diets of small children may make residues on these foods of particular concern. For this reason, parents may turn to organic for the fruits and vegetables children enjoy, such as "baby" carrots, apples, berries, grapes and raisins.
All these factors contribute to making produce one of the biggest and most successful segments in the organic market, estimated at more than $9 billion annually in the United States and still growing at double-digit rates, according to the Organic Trade Association of Greenfield, Mass. And once shoppers realize that organic foods are tasty and familiar, they may be more receptive to the organic label in dairy, cereal and grains, snack foods and other departments.
To make the most of the produce gateway to organic, keep a few important things in mind:
1. Try sampling to demonstrate flavor. Organic tomatoes, strawberries and grapes in season are packed with flavor; one taste can be worth a thousand persuasive words.
2. Use the produce aisle as an opportunity to showcase local organic farmers. It adds to a community feeling and shows your commitment to farmers in the region, and those farmers can provide you with special seasonal offerings like heirloom vegetables at the peak of freshness.
3. Follow the U.S. Department of Agriculture standards for selling organic fruits and vegetables. As a retailer, you are not required to have organic certification but must prevent contamination of organic products and commingling with nonorganic products. You should have a physical barrier separating organic produce from nonorganic produce; organic should always be stocked above nonorganic to avoid contaminating drip when produce is sprayed; and storage, handling, record keeping and labeling systems must ensure the integrity of the organic product. You must also ensure that your suppliers are certified according to federal law.
4. Offer organic choices for the fruits and vegetables ranked by credible scientific organizations as having the most pesticide residues. The Environmental Working Group's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce lists strawberries as the most contaminated fresh food, followed by green and red bell peppers, spinach, U.S.-grown cherries, peaches, Mexican cantaloupe, celery, apples, apricots, green beans, Chilean grapes and cucumbers.
5. Provide all your customers with information about basic food safety procedures. Organic foods have never been shown to be more dangerous to eat than conventional foods—in fact, regulations for manure use in organic agriculture are much more strict than for conventional farming—but all foods should be treated with care. Consumers are advised to wash fresh fruits and vegetables, whether organic or conventional, before ingesting.
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