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Thank you for participating in our
#OrganicIsEarned Campaign. We are happy to help
you kickstart your organic journey.

The questions you have asked

• What is the difference between organic food vs non-organic food?

• How is organic food certified so that I can be sure of its authenticity?
• How to choose an organic food brand? What are the things I should
check before choosing?
• Why is organic food so expensive? What's the value for money?
• Does it help in going 100% organic? What are the visible benefits?

Answers up next
What is the difference between organic
food vs non-organic food?
Food cultivated by conventional farming, whether raw or processed, is
conventional food. Food produced in accordance with organic farming
guidelines and regulations, whether raw or processed, is organic food.
At every stage of the journey, starting right from the farm to the fork,
organic food is handled with minimum external inputs but maximum
care to ensure it’s pure and free from any contamination. Organic
food when certified is verified by a third-party auditing agency, which
checks for the product and process compliances. The system also
enforces a high level of traceability.

So, every organic food product can be traced back to its origin,
ensuring we know exactly which farmer, field and village produced it.
But, when it comes to conventional food, this is not the case. Even best
of companies fail to maintain complete traceability of their products,
as the system doesn’t demand it.

To understand organic food, it is also important to know how it is

cultivated, stored and processed. Organic agriculture is not merely the
cultivation of crops without using pesticides or chemicals. It is an
integrated farming process ensuring environmental sustainability. It
works on enhancing the biological diversity of the field - more crop
species, enriched soil microflora, productive livestock, benefiting
insects and healthy farmers. Thus, ensuring the produce stays
wholesome, nutritious and free of contamination.

When it comes to storing organic food, no chemical fumigant, waxes

or colours are used. Instead, it is stored in controlled climatic
conditions with the help of cold storage & low oxygen systems.

Processed organic food uses no or minimum processing aids and food

additives. Only the ones specified and permitted as per the organic
guideline is used. Most organic food products use wholesome organic
ingredients and refrain from using refined ones.

These are the parameters, which sets organic food apart from its
non-organic counterpart.
How is organic food certified so that I can be
sure of its authenticity?
In India, the National Programme for the Organic Production (NPOP),
issued by the APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products
Export Development Authority), is the guideline followed during
organic food production and processing. Recently, FSSAI has also
accepted NPOP organic guideline as its regulation for organic
produce.

Organic food certification for an agricultural field is a 3-4 year process.

An organic field is enrolled with a certification agency which is an
authorised third party and has expert auditors. These experts
periodically check and verify the field for all required parameters like
soil quality, water quality, possible crops that can be cultivated,
harvest quantities, quality of produce, contaminations, farmer
knowledge etc.

Only after 3-4 years of vigorous checks, organic certification is granted

to a field. The factory, which handles the produce for further
processing undergoes auditing as well to verify for good
manufacturing practices. The verification involves the assessment of
quality and infrastructure to ensure that there is no co-mingling with
regular produce. The auditor also takes note of whether the staff is
sufficiently trained to understand and handle the products
appropriately.

There are International & National Certification bodies who are in turn
audited and accredited by APEDA regularly to ensure adherence to
defined standards for organic cultivation.
How to choose an organic food brand? What
are the things I should check before choosing?
When choosing an organic food brand, you need to look for the fol-
lowing:

• NPOP logo
• Jaivik logo as mandated by FSSAI*
• Name of the certification agency

These logos will be printed only on those organic food products,

which has been certified as organic by the regulatory authorities. You
need to ensure all of them are present while buying the organic food
product of your choice.

Also check the company’s sourcing system. Does the company

source directly from farmers or middlemen? Given that India has
mostly small farms averaging about 5 acres sourcing directly from
farmers becomes very important to ensure organic integrity.

Note – Jaivik logo has been made mandatory recently and may
appear on packs only from September 2018
Why is organic food so expensive? What's
the value for money?
Here are some reasons which make 24 Mantra Organic Food more
expensive than Non-Organic food of similar quality.

• When you buy non-organic there are 2 or 3 prices of the same

product like dal or rice or flour depending on the quality. All
24 Mantra products are grown and sourced from the right farms using
the best varieties and without any mixing so that you as a consumer
get a dal, atta, rice, spices which are not only free from pesticides and
chemicals but also are the best possible quality. Therefore,
24 Mantra prices are linked with the quality of the product.

• Farmers have to work harder and take more risks to produce high
quality organic products and hence 24 Mantra pays a premium to the
farmers. This helps them earn a better livelihood as well as keep
growing 100% organic food for all of us.

• The processes & costs involved in sourcing from small farmers

spread across the country and ensuring that Global Organic
Standards for storage, transportation etc. are maintained, are
significantly higher than the process followed by non-organic farming.
The regulation requires lots of field records and audits. Organic fields
need to be audited on a regular basis by both internal systems and
external agencies. These checks and balances ensure that the
compliances to the organic guidelines are at a maximum level. At the
time of procurement of the produce from the fields, organic food is
once again tested for, as many as 207, pesticide residues to check the
compliance of the produced lot. These additional tests require
manpower, resources and come at an additional cost, which can be
avoided by the conventional food industry. This is the reason why
organic food is expensive.

• As a consumer, you might end up paying a premium for high

quality food products which in most cases is less than the cost of one
movie outing for you and your family. Surely, it is not a big price to pay.
When you buy organic food, you are not just buying good health for
your family but, you are also contributing towards a better livelihood
for our small and marginal farmers across India. The next time you
buy organic food remember, you are not just adopting a safer lifestyle
but also promoting environmentally sustainable processes for a
better tomorrow.
Does it help in going 100% organic? What
are the visible benefits?
Of course. It helps. Good food is good health; Good health is good mind. No
second thought.
While eating conventional food, unknowingly we are consuming herbicides,
antibiotics, growth harmones, weedicides, pesticides, fungicides- may be only
in traces - but on regular basis. We should understand that ultimately all these
chemicals are “biocides”. They kill or control another living system by
interfering with that organism’s nervous system or reproductive system or
general growth system. Accumulation of these residues in our body is
undesirable. These toxins could cause health issues like head-ache, immunity
disorders, reproductive disorders, joint weakness etc.

Going 100% organic reduces this toxic input into our body thereby relieving
our body from the stress to handle these contaminants and their side effects.
It helps for good health and peaceful mind.

If you are still not convinced, here’s a list of the benefits of switching to
24 Mantra Organic:

1). Nil or negligible exposure to pesticide residues in food. Pesticides are

known carcinogenic agents. Consuming Organic food helps reduce the
chances of cancer. Pesticides are also known to reduce immunity and affect
neurological development and reproductive capability. Growing incidence of
Autism could also be possibly linked to pesticide residues.
2). 24 Mantra products also do not use any synthetic colours or processing
aids. This can help prevent allergies caused by synthetic food additives and
pesticide residues.
3). Organic food contains much more levels of antioxidants. Studies have
shown that Organic foods have up to 33% more antioxidants compared to
conventional food. Antioxidants are chemicals that prevent or reduce tissue
damage in cells caused by free radicals.
4). In India adulteration is a big issues. All 24 Mantra products have full
traceability and you can be assured that every product is 100% pure.
5). 24 Mantra Organic products are great tasting due to the selection of
appropriate varieties of seeds and sustainable cultivation practices used by
our farmers.
6). In 24 Mantra products we use mostly whole grains and are minimally
processed. This means better nutritional quality.

Consumption of organic food for a few months may not bring about any
visible change in our physical form or will not relieve us from a disease we are
suffering. It is very important to understand that eating organic food is not like
eating a food supplement in the hope for a particular change or relief. It is a
lifestyle choice you make for the betterment of your family, society and
extended community.