Canadian consumers push up popularity of organic foods, survey finds

Over half of Canadian households bought organically grown food last year, citinguse ofpesticides and fertilizers as their top concern, according to a Certified Organics Report released Monday.

The report, compiledby market research group the Nielsen Company, found that 51.5 per cent of Canadian households bought an organic product within the past year.

Of the $46 billion in 2006 national grocery sales, $412 million was spent on certified organic foods — an increase of 31 per cent over 2005, the report said. Nielsen analyzed data for prepackaged, fresh and frozen organic produce, meats and beverages sold under the label "certified organic" or "verified organic."

The Canadian Organic Growers Association says there were 3,618 certified organic growers in Canada in 2005, with another 241 farmers in the process of converting their conventional farms to organic. More than 530,000 hectares of land are dedicated to growing organic food, the largest crop being wheat.

The report found demand for organic foods was greatest in B.C. while Quebec consumers showed the least interest in the products.

Last September, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency proposed a new set of rules for farmers wanting to carry a new "Canada Organic" label. The federal watchdog said farmers would have to submit an application for certification with information on the methods of production and thesubstances used in production.