Have you noticed? Seems everywhere you go now, you can’t help but see that organic products are becoming the rage. Though organic food has been around for decades, it used to be found only in specialty stores like Whole Foods, or confined to a tiny corner in the produce section. Now it seems like everything is going organic—from pasta sauces, juice drinks, cereals, to even cookies, popcorn and potato chips!

Many have voiced their desire to have a Whole Foods locate in the beach area, and that would be nice. My hubby, Nick, has a Whole Foods not far from the condo in Dallas. He is there nearly every day. And, I daresay, they do have a great variety of products. We do have some markets here, such as the Garden Market, that do a good job of stocking a variety of organic foods. We frequent there—a great store. And now, we have a biggie getting into the organic trend. Wal-Mart has announced they will stock organic products on their shelves. Their plan is to double their current space and compete with the likes of SuperValu, Safeway, Super G, and SuperFresh. Nick and I were in the Food Lion at Five Points in Lewes, and were surprised by the large amount of space devoted to organic products.

Many of the big food manufacturers, like General Mills for example, own organic brands such as Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen. Some manufacturers are even rolling out organic versions of existing products. You can now shop for Ragu organic pasta sauce, Snyder’s organic pretzels, Orville Redenbacher’s organic butter popcorn (yum!). Later this summer an old standby gets an update—Kraft organic macaroni and cheese. Well, folks, looks like organic has gone mainstream. Even the company where I worked for 15 years, Ocean Spray, has an organic cranberry juice.

Ok, so now with all these great choices added to our shopping enjoyment, (sorry, I really do enjoy grocery shopping) what are we getting when we buy these organic foods? Though the organic label is often perceived as synonymous with healthy, tastier, or just plain better, organic has a specific definition set in 2000 by the US Department of Agriculture after years of varying standards. Plain and simple, organic produce cannot be grown with pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. Animals must not be injected with antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic farms undergo a rigorous certification process and are inspected for compliance by an independent agent.

To earn the "100 percent organic" label under the USDA system, a food must contain only organically produced ingredients. Next in line is "organic" in which at least 95 percent of the ingredients must be organic. The other 5 percent must be an approved ingredient. Those are mostly preservatives, thickeners, or other things such as baking soda and spices. Here and with the "100 percent organic" foods, consumers may also spot the USDA seal. Products that have at least 70 percent organic ingredients can sport the term "made with organic ingredients." Any less and the food gets no boasting rights beyond noting the organic elements in the list of ingredients.

Consumers often think that the organic label means so much more. It can be confusing. The organic certification is a process certification not a product certification. It says nothing of the product, its freshness, or its nutritional value.

So, what do we as consumers do? Well we need to carefully consider each organic purchase. There may be no reason to buy an organic version of a favorite food when it’s conventional counterpart is little or no different and most likely cheaper. I’ve found this to be true. Nick and I purchased both Ragu regular and organic pasta sauces. I couldn’t tell the difference—really. But the Ragu Organic sauce cost $1.75 more. On average, organics cost 30 to 50 percent more than the conventional foods. But many new players to the game—namely Wal-Mart, are expected to lower the price of their organic products, making them more price competitive. Wal-Mart has announced that they will price their organic items at only 10 percent more than it’s non-organic products. Let the price war begin!

So, maybe you want to give these new products a try. Do they taste better? Are they better for you, do you get the most bang for your buck? That’s a choice we, as consumers, must make. Happy shopping! And please, read the label!