Label of contents.(Memo to members)

I'm on a diet these days, trying to lower my cholesterol and keep my weight down with a good mix of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat protein. (Though, truth be told, all good intentions are pushed aside by a bag of gourmet jelly beans.) Like many of you, I also have a new, deeper interest in the safety and nutrition of the food I eat.

Recently, CONSUMER REPORTS has written about the health and safety aspects of seafood, milk, beef, and cereal. In this issue, we look at current concerns about chicken (see "Of Birds and Bacteria," page 24) and about water (see "Clear Choices," page 33).

But Consumers Union's efforts go far beyond the pages of CONSUMER REPORTS. Our public-policy advocates are respected and vocal contributors to national policy on food safety and labeling. Here are two topics we're working on.

Making sure organic is organic. In October, national organic standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) went into effect. The Organic Food Protection Act of 1990 mandated the development of a fixed set of standards for any food using the "organic" label. Twelve years and hundreds of thousands of public comments later (including many from CU), consumers finally have a standard definition of what an organic label means.

There had been an earlier labeling system and, in most cases, organic-certification programs policed themselves well. But there were dozens of such programs, each with its own label. The system wasn't entirely successful because consumers couldn't be sure of what each label--and the certification behind it--actually meant.

Now you'll find clear labels that will be consistent from product to product. If a box of cereal, a bag of chips, or a bottle of juice is labeled "100% organic," the USDA is certifying that all the ingredients are produced without most synthetic pesticides or any petroleum- or sewage sludge-based fertilizers, genetic ...