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" Enter a supermarket anywhere, and you&amp;#039;ll find a growing number of organic products. Not just fruits and veggies, but peanut butter, ice cream \u2014 you name it. And moms are buying: Between 2000 and 2008, sales of organics rose at least 15 percent per year. Even in the economic downturn of 2009, sales were up 5 percent. What&amp;#039;s helped drive those numbers: New, lower-cost private-label organics from chains like Safeway, Publix, and Kroger. When you can find A&amp;amp;amp;P&amp;#039;s organic Green Way frozen pizza for 50 cents less than DiGiorno, you know you&amp;#039;re not in the pricey specialty-foods store anymore.  Nonetheless, organics generally are pricier than conventionally produced food \u2014 and that can add up, especially at a time of year when we&amp;#039;re entertaining and feeding visiting relatives. So, putting aside the big questions, do these products taste good enough to replace your usual picks? To find out, the GHRI nutrition department created the ultimate smackdown \u2014 a taste comparison of private-label organic products against more expensive name brands and against top-selling nonorganic choices. Here, in time for your holiday marketing, what to put in your cart. Next: The Ultimate Smackdown \u2014 Taste Reports on 13 Family-Friendly Products The Ultimate Smackdown (GHRI Test) Taste reports on 13 family-friendly breakfast, lunch, dinner &amp;amp;amp; snack products  The Tasters: 92 volunteers, including 13 elementary school kids on all products except plain oatmeal and produce, which we thought might earn too many &amp;quot;yucks!&amp;quot; How We Tested:  Round 1: We compared a total of 52 private-label organic products from top grocers to 28 of the leading brand-name organic products (for example, Winn-Dixie Organic Creamy Peanut Butter versus Smucker&amp;#039;s Organic Creamy Peanut Butter), to see how the store brands fared. Then we announced an Organic Winner.  Round 2: Next we held a face-off, pitting the Organic Winner from round 1 against the best-selling nonorganic name-brand item in each category (for instance, Annie&amp;#039;s Organic Classic Macaroni &amp;amp;amp; Cheese versus Kraft Macaroni &amp;amp;amp; Cheese Dinner). Here, the winners, with comments from tasters.   ORGANIC WINNER FACE-OFF WINNER WHAT TASTERS SAID   PASTA SAUCE Adults Organic Traditional Rag\u00FA 365 Organic Tomato Basil Kids O Organics Tomato Basil Adults Prego Traditional Italian Kids Organic Traditional Rag\u00FA  Overall, organic sauces rated well, so we wound up with a tie. But in the end, the nonorganic Prego&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;homemade flavor&amp;quot; prevailed, at least for the adults.   MAC &amp;#039;N&amp;#039; CHEESE Adults 365 Organic Kids Annie&amp;#039;s Organic Classic  Adults 365 Organic Kids Kraft  Kids love mac &amp;#039;n&amp;#039; cheese; they gave all three organic brands high scores, though old fave Kraft ultimately won. Adults liked 365 Organic for its &amp;quot;natural&amp;quot; flavor.   PEANUT BUTTER Adults Private Selection Organic All Natural Creamy Kids Winn-Dixie Organic Creamy  Adults &amp;amp;amp; Kids Jif Creamy  Choosy moms choose Jif for a reason: It has a&amp;quot;great roasted nut flavor,&amp;quot; as one taster noted. Want organic? Pick a store brand: Three outscored pricier name brands.   CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP Adults Pacific Natural Foods Organic Chicken and Penne Pasta Kids  Muir Glen Organic Chicken Noodle Adults Pacific Natural Foods Organic Chicken and Penne Pasta Kids Campbell&amp;#039;s Chicken Noodle Condensed &amp;quot;Closest to homemade&amp;quot; was a big selling point for adults, who chose Pacific Foods. Kids didn&amp;#039;t much like the organics; their pick: the slightly saltier Campbell&amp;#039;s.   BABY CARROTS Adults Only Wild Harvest Organic Grimmway Farms Among the seven brands of carrots, taste ranged from &amp;quot;sweet&amp;quot; to &amp;quot;bitter, metallic.&amp;quot; Nonorganic &amp;quot;crunchy, carroty, fresh&amp;quot; Grimm-way Farms was the overall winner.   Next: Taste Reports Continued...    ORGANIC WINNER FACE-OFF WINNER WHAT TASTERS SAID   FROZEN GREEN BEANS Adults Only O Organics Whole Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers Select Whole  Though O Organics won in the first round, it lost out to Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers. These beans, tasters felt, lived up to the &amp;quot;fresh&amp;quot; in their name.    FROZEN RASPBERRIES Adults Only O Organics O Organics Our panelists preferred the &amp;quot;sweet, juicy flavor&amp;quot; of O Organics to the &amp;quot;sour,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;bitter&amp;quot; Dole berries.    FROZEN STRAWBERRIES Adults Only Cascadian Farm Dole  Dole won by a landslide because its fruit &amp;quot;most resembled fresh, juicy strawberries.&amp;quot; The organics were generally found to be &amp;quot;slimy,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;mushy,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not sweet or ripe.&amp;quot;    FROZEN WAFFLES (PLAIN)  Adults Nature&amp;#039;s Path Organic Homestyle; O Organics Flax Kids Nature&amp;#039;s Path Organic  Adults Nature&amp;#039;s Path Organic Homestyle Kids Eggo Homestyle Nature&amp;#039;s Path took top honors with adults (and kids in round 1), maybe for its sweetness. Still, for kids, familiarity rules; they rated best-seller Eggo the champ.   FROZEN PIZZA (CHEESE) Adults and Kids Amy&amp;#039;s Cheese  Adults DiGiorno Rising Crust Four Cheese; Amy&amp;#039;s Cheese Kids DiGiorno Rising Crust Four Cheese   Young tasters liked all the pies, though they agreed Amy&amp;#039;s was tops in round 1. In the face-off, some adults and the kids shifted to DiGiorno, praising its denser crust.    CANNED CORN Adults Only  GreenWise Organic Whole Kernel GreenWise Organic Whole Kernel  The organic store brand edged out the others because of its &amp;quot;crisp kernels,&amp;quot; though face-off contestant Del Monte also got high marks for its &amp;quot;real corn&amp;quot; taste.   OATMEAL Adults Only Bob&amp;#039;s Red Mill Organic Quick Cooking Rolled Oats Bob&amp;#039;s Red Mill Organic Quick Cooking Rolled Oats This &amp;quot;creamy,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;grainy&amp;quot; oatmeal bested both the organic and the nonorganic competition.     PREWASHED MIXED SALAD GREENS Adults Only Wild Harvest Organic Spring Mix Wild Harvest Organic Spring Mix  &amp;quot;Crisp&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;fresh&amp;quot; Wild Harvest won, though competition was close \u2014 except for Fresh Express greens, which were pronounced &amp;quot;bitter&amp;quot; by almost half our tasters.    Private-Label Brands: Where You&amp;#039;ll Find Them \u2014 365 Organic: Whole Foods Market. Green Way: A&amp;amp;amp;P, Waldbaum&amp;#039;s, Pathmark, Food Emporium, Super Fresh, Food Basics. GreenWise: Publix. O Organics: Safeway, Vons, Carrs, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Genuardi&amp;#039;s. Private Selection Organic: Kroger, Ralphs, King Soopers, City Market, Dillons, Smith&amp;#039;s, Fry&amp;#039;s, QFC, Baker&amp;#039;s, JayC Food Stores, Gerbes, Pay Less Super Markets, Scott&amp;#039;s Food &amp;amp;amp; Pharmacy. Wild Harvest Organic: Shaw&amp;#039;s/Star Market, Jewel-Osco, Albertsons, Farm Fresh, Shop &amp;#039;n Save, Acme, Hornbacher&amp;#039;s, Cub Foods. Winn-Dixie Organics: Winn-Dixie. Nature&amp;#039;s Basket Organic: Giant Eagle, Market District, Giant Eagle Express. Next: Is organic really healthier for you?   Is It Really Healthier? There&amp;#039;s no question organics are better for plants, animals, farm workers, and the ecosystem. But are they actually healthier for you and your family? There&amp;#039;s a great deal of debate \u2014 sometimes partisan, always heated \u2014 on nutritional advantages. While research is trending toward showing that organic food has more of certain nutrients, that doesn&amp;#039;t mean the organic tomato you pick from a bin will definitely be richer in these than its conventionally grown cousin at the other end of the aisle. Too many other factors \u2014 soil conditions, weather, how the produce was transported and stored \u2014 come into play to allow for certainty that any one piece of fruit or vegetable is better for you than another. But there&amp;#039;s an additional issue to consider \u2014 namely, safety:  Pesticides:  Eating food that&amp;#039;s certified organic means you&amp;#039;re limiting your exposure to the chemicals used to kill plant pests. The Environmental Protection Agency regulates pesticides to ensure that they don&amp;#039;t pose unreasonable risks to our health or to the environment. Still, a number of research scientists are concerned about the types and levels of pesticides allowed in conventional farming. A recent study of 12,000 children, for example, found that those with above-average levels of pesticides in their urine were nearly twice as likely to have ADHD as kids with undetectable levels. Developing brains and nervous systems are the most vulnerable to chemicals, so if you&amp;#039;re pregnant or have young children (especially under age 2), spending more for organic food might be smart. And all families can reduce their risk by peeling fruits and vegetables. Antibiotics: Conventionally farmed livestock and poultry are routinely given drugs to prevent illness and boost the rate of growth, a practice that has contributed to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Buying organic meat, poultry, and milk means you are assured the animal has never been treated with antibiotics. On nonorganic meat and poultry, labels of &amp;quot;no added antibiotics,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;no antibiotics administered,&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;raised without antibiotics&amp;quot; mean the same thing, though the claims are not as tightly regulated. Milk is strictly regulated, and even nonorganic brands don&amp;#039;t contain a significant level of antibiotics, if any.  Hormones:  These are often used to fatten conventionally raised cattle or to enhance milk production. Organic cattle aren&amp;#039;t treated with hormones, and some conventional cattle aren&amp;#039;t either, so if you&amp;#039;re concerned about hormone use, you can choose organic meat and dairy or look for a hormone-free claim on other packages. Hormones aren&amp;#039;t used on pork or poultry, so claims on those items are meaningless. USDA ORGANIC: What &amp;quot;Organic&amp;quot; Means Thanks to the USDA National Organic program, it&amp;#039;s less of a labeling free-for-all in the supermarket these days. When you see the circular &amp;quot;USDA Organic&amp;quot; logo on a package, it means that the food was produced according to strict practices that don&amp;#039;t allow the use of synthetic flavors, colors, sweeteners, most preservatives, toxic or long-lasting pesticides and fertilizers, or methods like genetic engineering. Organic farming and production methods also ensure that animals are treated more humanely. Another assurance: Producers of certified organic food are subject to announced and unannounced inspections to make sure farming and manufacturing practices are up to snuff. While timely follow-through has been a problem in the past for the USDA program, major increases in its budget and staff have given it more bite.  Next: Saving money on organics with smart shopping  Smart Shopping Sounds Like Organic, But... Many people confuse these claims with the real (certified organic) thing. Here&amp;#039;s the lowdown on the lingo  Natural: On meat and poultry, this indicates that no artificial flavorings or colorings were added and that the cut was not irradiated to reduce bacteria, but it doesn&amp;#039;t tell you anything about how the animal was raised. On products outside the meat case, the term is undefined (and unregulated), so it doesn&amp;#039;t mean anything.  Free Range: When you see this term on chicken and eggs, it means that the bird has had access to the outdoors. But the USDA doesn&amp;#039;t regulate how much time chickens must spend there or what kind of surface it must be (it could be cement). Locally Grown: Can you define &amp;quot;nearby&amp;quot;? Neither can federal regulators \u2014 there&amp;#039;s no standard for descriptions of how far food has traveled to reach your store. It&amp;#039;s also important to remember that not all organic food is locally grown, nor is all locally grown food organic \u2014 even the vegetables and fruit you see at farmers&amp;#039; markets.  How to save money shopping for organics If you&amp;#039;re looking to go organic or if you already have, here are some helpful strategies to save money in the checkout line:   Go organic on produce with the highest levels of pesticides. The &amp;quot;dirty dozen&amp;quot; are a good place to start with your organic produce purchases. Starting with the worst, they are peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, grapes (imported), spinach, lettuce, potatoes. The cleanest 12 are onions, avocados, sweet corn (frozen), pineapples, mangoes, asparagus, sweet peas (frozen), kiwi fruit, bananas, cabbage, broccoli, papaya, so you may decide to skip the extra cost for organic on these. You can download the Environmental Working Group&amp;#039;s shopping guide to help you make savvy decisions here: http://www.foodnews.org.  Choose organic food for items that your family eats the most. If your family drinks gallons and gallons of milk each week, consider allocating your organic funds there. If your kids won&amp;#039;t touch anything but grapes, think about splurging on organic ones and balancing out the rest of your cart with conventional foods that don&amp;#039;t have as big an impact on your family. Look for store brands. Many national supermarkets now have their own private label organics brand. Here are some examples of where we found them. \u2022 365 Organic: Whole Foods Market \u2022 Green Way: A&amp;amp;amp;P, Waldbaum&amp;#039;s, Pathmark, Food Emporium, Super Fresh, Food Basics \u2022 GreenWise: Publix \u2022 O Organics: Safeway, Vons, Carrs, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Genuardi&amp;#039;s \u2022 Private Selection Organic: Kroger, Ralphs, King Soopers, City Market, Dillons, Smith&amp;#039;s, Fry&amp;#039;s, QFC, Baker&amp;#039;s, JayC Food Stores, Gerbes, Pay Less Super Markets, Scott&amp;#039;s Food &amp;amp;amp; Pharmacy \u2022 Wild Harvest Organic: Shaw&amp;#039;s/Star Market, Jewel-Osco, Albertsons, Farm Fresh, Shop &amp;#039;n Save, Acme, Hornbacher&amp;#039;s Cub Foods \u2022 Winn-Dixie Organics: Winn-Dixie \u2022 Nature&amp;#039;s Basket Organic: Giant Eagle, Market District, Giant Eagle Express  Cut coupons. Check out HealthESavers for specialty brands or go to Coupons.com  to see if your favorite organics brand has any coupons available. You can also go directly to the website of your brand-of-choice to be added to coupon distribution lists.  Subscribe to an RSS feed. The Organic Trade Association scouts out prices and reports bargains on its  Savvy Organic Shopper blog. Sign up to get the 411 on deals. Buy in bulk. Warehouse clubs are a great place to find savings, and buying in bulk is especially handy when shopping for a family. Look for local produce. True, local doesn&amp;#039;t necessarily mean organic, but many local farmers are producing food in accordance with organic standards and just haven&amp;#039;t paid to be certified by the USDA. Ask the farmer. Also, local produce means you&amp;#039;re buying in season when there is an abundance of that item. That tends to translate into good deals.   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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