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Pure organic coconut oil

What is organic coco oil and what are the benefits it gives to consumers?

What is pure organic coconut oil and how does this differ from other coconut oil products which are not labeled as organic? Is organic coco oil more beneficial?

To understand this better, let us define what organic means, what organic foods are and how they are classified.

Organic farming is a form of agriculture that uses the traditional way – no artificial fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, and other new technologies – in growing plants, raising animals, and producing food products. When coconut oil is marked as organic, the manufacturers give an assurance that they use organic farming or use organic ingredients.

Levels of Organics

Not all coco oil products are organic or entirely organic, even those with the label virgin coco oil or extra virgin coconut oil. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), for example, sets four levels of organics. The USDA seal must be found on the product labels:

1.    100% Organic seal – this means all ingredients in the product and all methods to produce it are organic

2.    Organic – this is when at least 95% of the ingredients or contents are organic

3.    Made with organic ingredients – this is used when 70% or more of the ingredients or contents are organic

4.    No seal and no organic wording on the packaging – when there is less than 70% organic ingredients or content in the product, it does not pass any organic level in reference to USDA standards

In some countries, organic certification may be delegated in a certain government agency though there are also countries that do not have organic laws. In the latter case, private institutions or non-profit organizations may set their own standards and will serve as third party organic certifiers for coco oil manufacturers.

What is pure organic coconut oil?

For the coco oil companies that are under organic laws and standards, a certification or a seal must be found on the label of the product, absence of the seal but with the organic wording on the label will be considered a fraudulent act.

Natural unrefined coconut oil or organic coco oil comes from coconut trees which are grown traditionally with the use of natural fertilizers and soil cultivation and without using synthetic pesticides and modern farming technologies.

To answer the growing demand of coco products, farmers would now usually use conventional farming to increase productivity. Thus, organic coconuts may not be very common today than they were years ago.

Organic vs. non-organic, is pure organic coconut oil better?

Many coco oil sellers consider their organic coco oil commercially advantageous. This is because some people believe organic foods provide more benefits on health and nutrition and they would most likely buy the oil with the organic name. But does coconut oil organic really promise something better?

According to studies, there is no significant difference between organic and non-organic coconut oil except how the trees were grown but in terms of taste, nutritional value, and safety, report findings do not consistently show organic foods are better. The fact is also true to other organic foods in general. This means what you get from non-organic coco oil is also what you get from the organic type.

The USDA certification or seal only protects the consumers from fraudulent suppliers that claim they sell organic products. It does not necessarily assure that the goods are safer or of higher quality than non-organic goods.

If you want to buy the best quality of natural coconut oil, do not consider the organic seal alone. Instead, read the product label – ingredients (if there are other additives, flavoring, and food coloring which you may be allergic of), nutrition facts, the directions for use, dosage, or cautions if there are any. Then again, there is also no harm if you would still prefer to use pure organic coconut oil.

Organic coconut oil related articles:

Refined coconut oil – Learn what refined coconut oil is and find out what are the industrial processes it undergoes. This type of oil is produced from dried coconut meat also known as copra.

Organic virgin coconut oil – Learn what exactly organic virgin coconut oil is according to the agriculture department standards. Find out that not all brands of virgin coco oil are necessarily organic.