More and more Canadians are prepared to pay a premium to buy food that is certified-organic.

They believe in good faith that an objective process ensures that the food is authentic.

They might be surprised to learn that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency allows any producer to use their organic labels as long as fees are paid and the paperwork is done.

The government does not require actual testing to ensure that the food is free of things like pesticide or growth hormones.

It was a similar story in the United States, but soon there will finally be random testing there to ensure that organic products are genuine and safe.

The American Consumers Union once performed random tests and discovered that one-quarter of organic food contained prohibited substances.

They urged the U S Department of Agriculture to introduce testing into the American organic program.

In Canada, the Food Inspection Agency ran tests in secret and discovered that almost half of the samples contained prohibited pesticides.

But they’re still not prepared to follow the American lead and require testing of organic food before giving producers a certificate.

Food that is certified-organic should be verified scientifically, and not sold as such just because the producer has paid a fee.

I’m Roger Currie. Join us again next week for more thoughts on the Frontier.

For more on agricultural policy, visit our website www.fcpp.org.