ORGANIC FOOD AND THE LAW

This review discusses the differences between organic foods and conventional foods with respect to food safety and nutritional composition and makes clear that several qualitative differences exit. This paper attempts to bring together different laws of countries in the light of recent developments in organic farming. The purpose is to review previous studies that investigated the main factors and challenging the adoption of organic agriculture. Recent food crisis such as mad cow disease have lessened consumer confidence in foods in general and especially in conventionally produced foods that may use pesticides, antibiotics, and other chemicals in food production .The results show that organic fruits and vegetables possess fewer pesticide residue and lower nitrate levels than do conventional fruits and vegetables. Because organic fruits and vegetables do not use pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, they have more biochemical energy to synthesize beneficial secondary plant metabolites such as polyphenolic antioxidants as well as naturally occurring toxins. The key issues emerging in organic farming include yield reduction in conversion to organic farm, soil fertility enhancement, integration of livestock, certification constraints, ecology, marketing and policy support. In the course of these projects, one of the main problems identified, however, has been limited information available to countries regarding best practices and issues to consider in the design of appropriate regulatory frameworks for organic agriculture.