The website Le Drenche discussed two opposing views regarding organic products available in French supermarkets.
Pros
According to Benoît Soury, director of the organic market at Carrefour, the company has built strong and lasting relationships with the agricultural world for over 30 years, mainly with its conventional quality chains. Carrefour has committed to a food transition accessible to all. Its objective is to offer a quality diet to all consumers and to propose healthier products at a fair price.
95% of the seasonal fruits and vegetables sold by Carrefour are produced in France. In parallel, the company supports several cooperatives in Corsica during their conversion phase until they obtain their organic certification for pomelos and clementines.
The retail group is often accused of making short-term commitments and to lock farmers into exclusivity. Yet, Carrefour supports conversion and production, with long-term contracts of 5 years. Moreover, the commitment is not exclusive. Carrefour has the support of 20,000 farmers in France.
Consumers want local products and short circuits. In order to prioritize sourcing from nearby supermarkets, the retail giant developed a highly structured organization with 22 purchasing centers in organic and short circuits.
Cons
According to Frédéric Denhez, author of “Buying organic? Who to trust?”, published by Albin Michel, the organic craze allows for all sorts of fantasies and has become a mass phenomenon thanks to supermarket chains, which has created some doubts around the subject.
Being regulated in Europe by specifications that apply to all countries of the union, organic products are the same everywhere. In other words, no matter where they are bought, organic products meet the same criteria. The certification logo is the green leaf, AB in France. The specifications are restrictive on the use of “inputs”, which are pesticides and fertilizers. The use is limited to products from organic farming itself such as manure and natural substances like copper.
However, technically, the absence of synthetic chemicals in organic products is not guaranteed. For processed products, the list of additives allowed is much shorter.
Consumers have an idealized image of the organic label which is not representative of the reality. They want to believe that it is a promise of health, that it will save the planet and that it respects animals and farmers... but it is not always the case.
According to Denhez, in order to find purely organic products, consistent with the organic philosophy, one must turn to the association Nature et Progrès, and generally buy only fresh products that are made in France, where the producers respect this philosophy. Finally, labels must be read carefully: a processed product with a lengthy and mysterious list of ingredients will always be suspect.
Source: ledrenche.fr