What's it all mean? Attention grocery shoppers: the latest labeling terms can help you tell how conscientious a food producer is

HAS YOUR LETTUCE BEEN SPRAYED WITH PESTICIDES? Were those eggs laid by chickens inhumanely cooped up in a tiny space? As a health-conscious consumer, you might be wondering not only what ingredients have gone into the food you buy, but how much care has gone into its production. Fortunately, more and more manufacturers and farmers are making it easier to find out by adding some telltale terms and posting them on signs at farmers markets and in grocery produce sections. Here, a guide to some of the ones you're likely to see.

THE BUZZWORD: BIODYNAMIC

Where you'll see it: On food package labels and at farmers markets

Translation: The objective of a biodynamic farm is to be self-sustaining as well as to continually renew the soil. Like organic farms, biodynamic farms do not use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, but they also go a step further by using preparations produced right on the farm, made mostly with compost or farm animal manure.

Why it matters: Biodynamic farming tends to have a low impact on the environment and farm workers and, like organics, puts less synthetics into the food system.

THE BUZZWORD: CAGE FREE

Where you'll see it: On egg cartons

Translation: This term does not necessarily mean that birds are free to wander around the countryside. Sometimes it means that the chickens have access to the outdoors; other times it may just mean that they are allowed to roam around a barn or poultry house.

Why it matters: While eggs from cage-free chickens aren't necessarily healthier, the animals surely live a better life than if they were penned in and unable to move as much as is natural.

THE BUZZWORD: FERTILE

Where you'll see it: On egg cartons

Translation: Just as it sounds, a fertile egg has been fertilized by a male chicken and could potentially become a chick. Regular eggs are produced without the presence of sperm.

Why it matters: Are fertilized eggs, as some people think, healthier? "No," says Christine Bruhn, a director of The Center for Consumer Research at the University of California. Davis. "Just adding one cell to an egg doesn't make much of a difference in nutritional value." And just for the record, brown eggs aren't healthier than white eggs, either. "They just come from brown chickens," says Bruhn.

THE BUZZWORD: FREE FARMED

Where you'll see it: On dairy, beef, pork and poultry products

Translation: This is a term found on products that have certified by the American Humane Association as having been produced by farmers who keep their animals free from unnecessary discomfort and allow them free expression of their normal behaviors, sufficient space and access to a healthy diet.

Why it matters: Good assurance that the product you're buying comes from animals who have been treated humanely.

THE BUZZWORD: HEIRLOOM

Where you'll see it: Attached to fruit and vegetable names, for example, heirloom tomatoes

Translation: When agriculture became big business, many farmers stopped growing particular varieties of fruits and vegetables that, while they tasted wonderful, didn't hold up to the rigors of shipping and mass production. Fortunately, many people held on to the seeds of those "old" favorites. "And now that people seem to want more variety, many of those fruits and vegetables are being brought back," says Bruhn. You've probably already seen heirloom tomatoes; be on the lookout for heirloom potatoes, apples, lettuces and carrots.

Why it matters: You may find some heirloom varieties have greater flavor than their more-familiar counterparts, and the heirloom boom has brought more choice to the produce department.

THE BUZZWORD: NON-GMO

Where you'll see it: On all different kinds of packaged food products

Translation: GMO--which stands for genetically modified organism--refers to the introduction into a plant of a gene or genes from a different species. "Non-GMO" is your assurance that the plant our food is coming from has not been reformulated in the lab.

Why it matters: Whether DNA manipulation in a lab is actually unhealthy for either the environment or those who will be eating the plant is still uncertain, but it's enough of a concern that many people (especially Europeans) have vowed never to consume anything that's been genetically modified.

THE BUZZWORD: NO SPRAY

Where you'll see it: Usually posted at farmers markets' stands

Translation: Many farmers haven't yet made the full leap to organic (it often takes loads of paperwork to get certified); however, they don't spray their produce with synthetic herbicides or pesticides and want you to know it.

Why it matters: This is no guarantee that a fruit or vegetable will be free of chemical residue, but it's a pretty good indication that the farmer is trying to be kind to workers and the environment.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group