Let’s first look at what “regulation” means when certification for organic food has existed in India for so long. As organic consumers, you’re likely familiar with the “India Organic” logo that is on many products sold as organic. The presence of that logo indicates that this product has been certified to meet the standards defined by India (under APEDA) for organic food.

However, despite certification, what has been lacking so far is regulating the use of word organic. So anyone can use the word “Organic” without having to comply with any standards or certifications. Many companies dealing in organic products have come up with their own terms, often as an attempt to be able to be more transparent.

Some examples of these are Natural, Near-Organic, Non-certified Organic, Organic by Trust, Default Organic. While the intent is to be transparent, my assessment based on various interactions is that these have largely confused consumers and made them believe that the term organic is just indiscriminately used. I should add that this isn’t just the case with organic.

Terms like Healthy can be used on literally any food item. Many countries regulate the use of such terms as well.