In the last two months Ms. Phuong Thao, a bank teller, has tripled her daily spending on food. Like growing numbers of other consumers, instead of shopping at the local market she now heads to organic food shops. 

Though popular in many countries, organic food has only recently made a mark in Vietnam, primarily in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. 

For 500 grams of morning glory, 500 grams of spinach, and one kilogram of pork, which is enough to feed four for a day, Ms. Thao pays VND300,000. 

At the local market or even in a regular supermarket she would part with just VND110,000. Ms Thao is now spending about 5 per cent of her monthly income on organic meals. 

“It’s expensive,” she said. “But I think organic food is cleaner, more delicious, and more nutritious. My son no longer wants to eat food from the local market. I have no concerns about harmful chemicals, which used to worry me before when I shopped at the market. It’s worth the extra cost.” 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), organic farming is natural farming and breeding with no use of fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. It’s good for the health and “earth-friendly”, keeping the land fertile and protecting water sources.  

Organic farming appeared first in the US and then spread all over the world, developing recently in China, India and Latin America. 

In Vietnam growers have applied Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS), a valuable guarantee system for organic products adopted by the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) under the ADDA - VNFU (Agriculture Development Demark Asia - Vietnam Farmer’s Union) Organic Agriculture Project conducted in Luong Son (northern Hoa Binh province), Soc Son (Hanoi), Duy Tien (northern Ha Nam province), Hoi An (central Quang Nam province) and Ben Tre province in the Mekong Delta. 

Organic food increased in popularity in Vietnam following inspections of farming and breeding uncovering the excessive use of chemicals. 

Concerns among consumers about unhygienic and unsafe food have driven up demand for organic food, and more shops have opened as a result. 

When it was first becoming known, many Vietnamese thought of organic food as only being vegetables. Now though, meat, eggs, and milk can bear the organic label. 

“It’s easy to find organic food, whether at shops or online,” said Ms. Thu Nga, a regular organic shopper. 

“Some local markets and supermarkets also sell it. But it can be confusing. Sometimes I can’t really be sure that organic food is actually organic, because a lot of it has no certification but the shopkeeper promotes what they sell as organic. I’m still uncertain about Made-in-Vietnam organic products, so I usually choose imported products even though they’re more expensive.”

Her concerns are not unfounded. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has issued the National Basic Standards for Organic Products in Vietnam but procedures for the certification of local organic products are not detailed so only products from the ADDA - VNFU project are of “official” organic quality. 

In Vietnam there are only two types of organic products: local products with the PGS stamp and imported products.

There are three types of organic food. Products labeled as “100% organic” must contain only organically-produced ingredients and processing aids, excluding water and salt. No other ingredients or additives are permitted. 

Products labeled “organic” must contain at least 95 per cent organically produced ingredients. Processed products that contain at least 70 per cent organic ingredients can use the phrase “Made with Organic Ingredients” and must list up to three of the organic ingredients or food groups on the packaging. 

For example, a soup made with at least 70 per cent organic ingredients and only organic vegetables can bear a label claiming “Soup Made with Organic Peas, Potatoes, and Carrots” or “Soup Made with Organic Vegetables”. 

Processed products containing less than 70 per cent organic ingredients cannot use the term “organic” anywhere on the packaging.

Many consumers are under the mistaken impression that the absence of pesticides or fertilizers means the food is organic. 

Claims of “no chemicals” can only be made for food grown in a natural ecosystem that is not close to industrial parks or highways, where river water and nano-technology are not used, and which is not genetically modified. 

It also needs to meet strict growing times and be grown on land that has been manually cleared of insects. The higher cost of organic food stems from the many requirements needed to label it as such. 

A lot of land in Vietnam has been spoiled by chemicals so not all can meet the standards for growing organic food. Consumers should therefore be careful about questionable marketing of organic products, according to Ms. Tuyet Nhung, Head of the ADDA - VNFU project in Hanoi. The production of organic food remains limited in Vietnam and so fails to meet demand, she added, which means many fake products are being sold. 

One of the biggest difficulties for Vietnam in producing organic food, she went on, is the lack of understanding among and cooperation from local farmers. 

As they have become accustomed to using chemicals on their crops the idea of using natural sources, which require more work for lower output, is a difficult sell. 

Despite organic food growing in demand it remains largely the domain of the well-off. And whether organic food is truly of better quality is still up for debate. 

According to the UK Food Standard Agency and the French Food Safety Agency there is no official evidence that organic food is safer and more nutritious than non-organic food. 

Organic methods are indeed more friendly on the environment, researchers agree, and prevent the risk of pesticide poisoning. But research by the Michigan Experiment Station over ten years and by the US Plant, Soil and Nutrition Laboratory over 25 years revealed that there was no difference between these two types of food. 

Different methods of planting and raising can change the taste but not boost nutrition levels, which are determined by the seed, the land, the weather, and the harvest. Specialists advise consumers better educate themselves about what constitutes “organic”. 

VN Economic Times