Your “Organic” Milk may be Produced with Non-Organic Ingredients by for Natural Society
DHA Milk made by Horizon, one of the largest organic brands in the U.S., isn’t nearly as “natural” as the company advertises it to be, according to an investigation by The Washington Post. It contains a type of algae, Schizochytrium, which is fed corn syrup. Corn is the #1 crop grown in the United States, and nearly all of it is genetically modified.
Schizochytrium is carefully tended, kept warm, and fed corn syrup, resulting in a substance that resembles corn oil, but has a slightly fishy taste. It is then marketed as the nutritional supplement DHA, and added to millions of cartons of organic Horizon milk.
Horizon uses corn-syrup enriched algal oil to advertise health benefits and charge more for their DHA-enhanced milk than it does for its regular milk.
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This raises an important question: Is Horizon DHA milk really “organic”?
Is the Milk Really Organic?
Charlotte Vallaeys, a senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports seems to think not. She said the addition of algal oil defeats the whole purpose of buying and eating organic.
The “All Natural” Scam: How to Shop Healthy for You and Your Family
“We do not think that [the oil] belongs in organic foods. When an organic milk carton says it has higher levels of beneficial nutrients, like omega-3 fats, consumers want that to be the result of good farming practices … not from additives made in a factory.”
Organic food companies desperately want the coveted “USDA Organic” seal on their products, knowing it can easily double the price of an item. But many companies are constantly pushing the USDA’s limits of what can be considered “organic.” Meanwhile, consumer groups want a narrower, “purer,” definition.
According to The Post, USDA officials must have misread federal regulations when they allowed the use of oil and similar additives, at least originally. Algal oil was introduced into milk in 2007. In 2012, the USDA quietly acknowledged that some federal regulations had been “incorrectly interpreted.” Rather than disrupt the market, the agency opted not to reverse course.
