Little-Known Fact: Over 250+ Non-Organic Ingredients Are Allowed In Organic Foods

There’s always a catch, huh? "The NOP is extremely transparent with this list, which includes food processing ingredients such as oxygen, citric acid, diatomaceous earth, and the baking agent agar- agar," says Mason. "All ingredients are deemed safe for human consumption if used in food, and are regularly scrutinized by the National Organic Standards Board.”

And, while organic-food purists, like Potter, oppose the list, others find value in it. "There are many un-harmful ingredients that we use in our foods every day that are intrinsically non-organic," says Mason. “For example, a small amount of baking soda is needed for otherwise entirely organic cookies and baked goods, but because all ingredients in a baked item must be accounted for, it has to be considered for the National List."

Our advice: Take a peek at the list and see how many of those ingredients are in your favorite organics, then ask yourself how many is too many for your taste buds.

Photographed by Ingalls Photo