How do I tell if It's organic when It's not packaged?

[MarkKol]

Leo has previously mentioned that all packaged foods are processed foods, but how do you tell a food is organic If it's not shown on the packaging?

[Michael569]

if it doesn't explicitly say, it is not. The sellers who go the extra length and supply organic will tell you - because it sells and because it costs shit ton of money. Those who do that will tell you - multiple times all over the packaging. 

The reason organic produce is packaged is to prevent contamination with non organic produce. 

If it doesn't say , it's not organic.

• not organic does not mean it is bad for you 
• similarly, processed, does not automatically mean bad for you - only small amounts of processed foods are what I would peg in "definitely unhealthy" category

Edited August 16, 2023 by Michael569

[EugeneTheSage]

Besides this, If you are buying on the market there is another criteria: BRIX value. Brix value tells the percentage of sugar content in plant. The higher the value the healthier the plant is. If you'll buy pale tomatoes from the supermarket and compare it to the taste of tomatoes grown on my grandma's backyard you'll notice that supermarket tomatoes aren't sweet while my grandma's are. If sugar content of a plant is high then everything else about the plant is healthier: it is more prone to the pests, I also assume that vitamin/mineral content is higher.

Another criterion is how saturated the smell/taste is. If you buy supermarket arugula you'll probably notice that pleasant smell and taste of arugula. But if you try arugula from my grandmother - oh boy... you can barely eat it because it is so hot. Need to throw 5 leaves on the bowl of salad. Yes, arugula that is grown on soil is much more saturated with the substances that make the arugula taste like arugula to the point that it is very spicy.

So you can try some samples from different suppliers and then start buying their uncertified almost organic veggies at a fraction of the cost of organic (at least it works so in Ukraine). Of course, you can't tell if they don't dump some rubbish near the field where everything grows, or whether it is located near the road.