Bio products and eco products

More and more people opt to include organic products in their diets, although the truth is that this type of food is still largely unknown to most of us. Knowing the difference between bio products and eco products is one of the first steps to be sure of what we are really eating.

Bio or eco products?

How many times have you seen food products labeled 'bio' or 'eco' in the supermarket, and have doubted if they were really the same thing? Actually, many people relate these concepts to seasonal products or, for example, buying local vegetables.

An organic product is produced following the regulations established by the European Union. That is to say, that it is produced and grows in nature, without artificial interventions. This means not using transgenics, pesticides or chemical fertilizers. These products are identified with an EU stamp, which recognizes that adequate controls have been made to guarantee their origin.

In the case of ecological livestock, animals that are raised in pollution-free zones, and which are not given growth hormones or antibiotics, are considered as such.

Confusion of concepts

In some countries, the words bio and organic are used as synonyms for ecological, but they are not always the same thing. How can you know if they really have the same guidelines? You can find out if we are really talking about the same thing by checking to see if they carry the corresponding stamp of the EU.

In any case, the most common use of these concepts (bio, and organic) is associated with variations different from what is ecological. Thus, bio is understood as food that has not been genetically modified. At any rate, at this point you must bear in mind that not all non-transgenic products are organic.

The concept of organic goes one step further. That is, a product that has not been treated with pesticides and chemical fertilizers. This does not imply that we can not refer to transgenic seeds.

In other words, we can say that bio or organic products do not have to comply with the basic requirements to be considered ecological. For this reason, it is very important that we look at the seal they carry on their packaging, and check that they have passed through the corresponding certification processes to ensure their origin.

In Spain, we can differentiate ecological products from bio and organic by looking at whether they bear the seal of agriculture that each autonomous community grants. Furthermore, we must bear in mind that we can find German and French products on the market with the certifications 'bio' or 'organic farming'.