North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[road's end farm <organic101@linkny.com>]

On May 16, 2006, at 10:00 AM, Hélène Dessureault wrote:

> Hi Tanis,
> If you are environmentally concern about your space, you have to be very
> careful these days with bagged potting soil as some of it contains compost
> made from sewage sludge. For some reason, it is allowed the use of the word
> ORGANIC which leads people to think that it is organic in the sense that has
> become a label of quality and inoccuity.

I don't know whether sewage sludge is still allowed to use the word "organic" on the label in the USA. It is not, in any case, allowed in certified organic production (though it took a good deal of screaming on the part of the organic community to get it banned in the USDA rule). It had been banned for years by private certifying agencies, so is probably not permitted for certified organic production in Canada either.

--Rivka
Finger Lakes NY; zone 5 mostly