Organic Processing Vo1.5 #5

Details

All Things Organic to Co-Locate With Expo Comida Latina
and All Asia Food June 16-18, 2009 in Chicago

The Organic Trade Association (OTA), in partnership with Diversified Business

Communications, announced it will co-locate its 2009 All Things Organic

Conference and Trade Show with two of

Diversified’s Cultural Food brand events—

Expo Comida Latina and All Asia Food. The show will take place June 16-18, 2009 at

McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.

“This is an exciting time to be involved in the organic and ethnic and specialty prod- uct sectors, particularly as organic and special-ty/ethnic foods are the two fastest-grow-ing segments of retail food sales,” said David Gagnon, OTA’s interim executive

director.

According to the Organic Trade Association’s 2007 Manufacturer Survey, overall U.S. organic product sales, including both food and non-food products, are

estimated to have reached $21.2 billion in 2007, and are projected to surpass $25 billion in 2008. And ethnic food is also growing—more than 70 percent of U.S. households are buying authentic ethnic food and beverage products today. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanic and Asian Americans will make up 33 percent of the U.S. population by the year 2050. Packaged Facts, meanwhile, has projected Hispanic and Asian markets to top $7 billion and $4 billion, respectively, in sales by 2009.

According to The Natural Marketing Institute, Hispanic and Asian consumers are more interested in organic foods than is the general population, and are more likely to seek out stores that carry organic foods. More than 50 percent of surveyed Hispanic Americans buy organic products to better their health, improve the environment and support local farmers. The co-location of the three shows will bring the certified organic and ethnic food and beverage markets together in one focused event to deliver the latest trends and showcase new and innovative products.

The All Things Organic Conference and Trade Show will mark its ninth year in 2009. Presented by OTA and Diversified Business Communications, the show has grown from 100 exhibitors in the 2001 inaugural event in Austin, TX, to over 600 booths of organic products and services and a buying audience of 12,000 in 2008. OTA and Diversified Business Communications are developing additional opportunities for the co-location in Chicago. Look for more information as it becomes available.

Organic Center Offers Rebuttal to
Controversial Review

This summer, the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), an organization that according to the Congressional Quarterly’s Public Interest Profiles receives major funding from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, issued a critique of a report The Organic Center released earlier this year. This report from the Center, entitled, “New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods,” reviewed over 97 well designed studies and found that across 11 components in food, the organic samples were, on average 25 percent more nutrient dense than the conventional samples. (This report can be downloaded at www.organic-center.org.)

In the ACSH critique, Dr. Joseph Rosen of Rutgers University questions the Center’s findings, seeking to debunk any efforts to establish organic as a healthier choice.

In response to this critique, the five co-authors of the Center’s report issued a rebuttal. This is now available on the Center’s website at www.organic- center.org/ science.latest.php. Excerpts include:

“The ACSH report by Dr. Joseph Rosen seems to accept, and does not argue with the factors we identified to screen published nutrient content studies for scientific validity. But as he goes through our report, he criticizes us for ‘cherry-picking’ results, excluding matched pairs where the results favor conventional food. However, he misrepresents our methodology and offers inconsistent and illogical suggestions to correct what he perceives as ‘bias’ in our selection of matched pairs used to compare nutrient concentrations.

“We applied the screening method and selection criteria consistently, and in fact eliminated more results favoring the organic food in a matched pair than the conventional food. Without our screening methods and criteria, the nutritional advantage of organic food would have been greater.”