# Organic Maple Syrup... now we're going to far!



## Pylonman (Aug 16, 2004)

I was in Cosco doing the big shop today. I love to stroll up and down the isles taking advantage of the free nibblesf. As I'm walking down the breakfast food isle, I see these dark glass containers that look wine bottles, a peer closer, thinking "wow, Cosco into wine... and it says Organic Maple Syrup. What? Another product that succumbs the marketing word of the decade 'organic'. How the heck can maple syrup be organic? It comes from Maple trees as sap, gets boiled down to syrup and bottled. It lasted for years on shelves with out preseratives.
The reason why I'm so cranky, is when I was younger and living near Guelph Ontario (Terra Cotta). We only tapped trees that were old and large enough to handle the spigets. We collected the sap, carried it by bucket to the house and boiled it down on our BBQ. It was a great experience and we made about 20-30 1 litre bottles to give out as Christmas presents. Now my boyhood experience is shattered with the birth of oraganic Maple Syrup. 
What's one to do?


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## BerlinerCa (Nov 22, 2005)

Pylonman said:


> I was in Cosco doing the big shop today. I love to stroll up and down the isles taking advantage of the free nibblesf. As I'm walking down the breakfast food isle, I see these dark glass containers that look wine bottles, a peer closer, thinking "wow, Cosco into wine... and it says Organic Maple Syrup. What? Another product that succumbs the marketing word of the decade 'organic'. How the heck can maple syrup be organic? It comes from Maple trees as sap, gets boiled down to syrup and bottled. It lasted for years on shelves with out preseratives.
> The reason why I'm so cranky, is when I was younger and living near Guelph Ontario (Terra Cotta). We only tapped trees that were old and large enough to handle the spigets. We collected the sap, carried it by bucket to the house and boiled it down on our BBQ. It was a great experience and we made about 20-30 1 litre bottles to give out as Christmas presents. Now my boyhood experience is shattered with the birth of oraganic Maple Syrup.
> What's one to do?


I think that for certain food ( eg.maple syrup, coconut products, fish products) the organic label refers more to how they are processed rather than how they are grown.

Personally I am always a bit suspicious of any "organic" product that is grown over seas. For me I try to buy local produce as much as possible and do not worry so much if it is "organic" or not. Obviously this is limited as I can not, for instance, buy locally grown organic coffee as I do not live in a coffee growing country.

One of my greatest enjoyments is going to the farmers market in a nearby square on Saturday morning. It is much nicer to shop this way than at a huge supermarket.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

I like the Number 3 Grade, that still tastes a little smokey.


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## Pylonman (Aug 16, 2004)

We go to the Coquitlam farmers market every Sunday. We prefer the veggies, cheese and fruit. Actually, one of vendors sells Apples that I can eat without getting a reaction. My toddler loves the cheese scones from a North Van bakery.


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## modsuperstar (Nov 23, 2004)

This post has given me a hankerin' for some maple syrup on a stick. I used to get it on sugar shack visits when I was a kid and more recently at Winterlude. Good stuff.


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## guytoronto (Jun 25, 2005)

It's simple marketing preying on the fears and ignorance of the general buying public.

Bottled water is no safer than tap water, yet people still but the bottles.
Veggie burgers are higher in fat content than a ground chuck burger, but people believe the veggie burger is healthier.
Granola bars have loads of fat in them, but they are perceived as healthy.

It goes on and on. Consumers are general ignorant, and marketing takes advantage of it.


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## MLeh (Dec 23, 2005)

My daughter's choir sold what we were told by the producer was 'Organic' Maple Syrup for fundraising, and he said there can be a difference - mainly in the way the maple syrup is processed. It was explained to me that a lot of larger processors have the lines leading from the trees to the processing place, and the lines are 'flushed out' which adds some 'non-organic' taste to the maple syrup. But again, there aren't any real regulations for labelling things 'organic' or not, so Caveat Emptor. 

But I will say this stuff we sold is the best Maple Syrup I've ever had in my life. It's not labelled 'organic' - it just is.  (And I'm not trying to sell any of it anymore - the producer retired, and now I'm hoarding the few cans I have left.)


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

I wonder if this is how people felt when the word "Pure" started appearing on maple syrup containers in the last century.


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## martman (May 5, 2005)

There is more to this story: Non organic producers of Maple syrup have been know to use formaldehyde to increase production.


> This is the html version of the file http://www.maplevalleysyrup.com/pdf/myth.pdf.
> G o o g l e automatically generates html versions of documents as we crawl the web.
> To link to or bookmark this page, use the following url: http://www.google.com/search?q=cach...RUP&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=2&client=firefox-a
> 
> ...



So no, it is no where near as silly as you made it out to be Pylonman. In fact I fail to see why this phenomenon would have any impact on your childhood memories. Please explain.


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## GratuitousApplesauce (Jan 29, 2004)

guytoronto said:


> It's simple marketing preying on the fears and ignorance of the general buying public.


And that post is simply BS displaying the ignorance of the poster about the subject in general.

While I don't doubt that there is misuse of the term "organic" in marketing by companies, tarring the whole organic food movement as "simple marketing" is ridiculous. Read up on the subject before spouting, please. Maybe have a chat with an organic farmer before you discount his efforts as "preying on the fears and ignorance of the general buying public." Obviously you are displaying those same fears and ignorance. 



MLeh said:


> But again, there aren't any real regulations for labelling things 'organic' or not, so Caveat Emptor.


What the informed consumer will look for is organic certification - look for "certified organic" on the label and find out about the organization doing the certifying. 

I know a farmer who goes through an annual organic certification and it is very rigourous. But there should be more regulations as to the use of the word, it's patchy, some jurisdictions do have regs others don't.


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## PenguinBoy (Aug 16, 2005)

guytoronto said:


> Bottled water is no safer than tap water, yet people still but the bottles.


If MacNutt was still around I'm sure he'd have something to say about that!


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

Sounds like a bunch of marketing FUD. Scaring people to buy your pricier product will work _some of the time_.


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## Glorusty (Sep 26, 2006)

*Grade No. 3 most nutritious, I understand.*



martman said:


> There is more to this story: Non organic producers of Maple syrup have been know to use formaldehyde to increase production.


Thanks for sharing this information. 

On another note, I understand that the Canada No. 3 Grade, is the richest for color, taste and nutrients. 

Mmm - Yummy :love2:


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## GratuitousApplesauce (Jan 29, 2004)

For the uneducated who think that that use of the word "organic" on products is just marketing, I have posted a link to the Canadian government's proposed  new organic standards.

For many years organic certification bodies have been doing the difficult work or ensuring that the label of "certified organic" means something and any serious organic farmer or food producer would submit to the rigourous testing to be allowed to advertise that certification.

Canada is finally proposing a new organic standard at the behest of organic farmers that would put into law exactly what the label organic means and presumably make it illegal for anyone to use the that word unless they met the standard.

For those who think organic food is just produced to take advantage of upper-class yuppie types who are willing to pay more because they are worried about pesticides in their food, please read up on the subject. Organic farming was originally introduced primarily by idealistic farmers who cared about the land they farmed and wanted to see it remain sustainable and healthy for generations. Organic farming accomplishes this whereas many types of conventional agriculture burn out the land and decimate the topsoil. Organic farming done properly results in land that is richer and healthier as the years go on.

But the FUD against organic food seems to remain, promoted mainly by city-dwellers who have probably never even met a farmer or don't understand the necessity of protecting our agricultural land.


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## arminia (Jan 27, 2005)

Healthier or not organic food tastes better and isn't that much more expensive. In fact sometimes it's cheaper.


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

GratuitousApplesauce said:


> For those who think organic food is just produced to take advantage of upper-class yuppie types who are willing to pay more because they are worried about pesticides in their food...


That's the reason why Whole Foods is located in the nicest neighbourhoods in North America. You are naive to think people aren't in it to make money.


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## GratuitousApplesauce (Jan 29, 2004)

gmark2000 said:


> You are naive to think people aren't in it to make money.


You are uninformed.


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## rondini (Dec 6, 2001)

I love how the municipal water "industry" always plays the "tap water is as safe or safer " than bottled water. But that isn't the issue all the time. Usually it's a taste issue, as most people prefer not to taste Javex or rusty nails when they drink their "safe" tap water. Also, a reputable water bottler would have their plant meet NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) standards, which are much higher than municipal standards. Remember if it is being packaged it must meet the same standards of handling etc. as all packaged foods do. When private wells are tested, only two things are checked, E. Coli and fecal coliform. Hardly definitive! Plus no municipal system treats or filters for cysts, whereas bottled water treats for this issue. Let us not forget that the first thing a municipal water service does when their systems crap out ( no pun intended), is truck in bottled water to give away. So suddenly it's safe after all??
I know whereof I speak, as I spent many years working in this field.


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

Well, it seems like people have strong views on the subject. Anyway, back on topic, it does seem like hype to read it on a label of Maple Syrup, in that the producer and bottler is almost certainly doing nothing special compared to what they've done since forever. There are good and bad producers of Maple Syrup but that's always been so.

If there is no body that certifies whether Maple Syrup meets certain standards, if there are no generally acceptable standards to begin with, it must be marketing alone. If there is, well, who are they and what are the standards ** (and how would they differ from what any good producer would do? Perhaps not at all).

Although it's not quite in the league of the "cholesterol free" banners, which are in most cases an example of fad advertising (eg corn and canola oil), I can see how someone who made maple syrup as a kid would be taken aback.

Quebec has a stringent, legislated framework for organic food. They do have an organic certification for Maple Syrup and broadly speaking it's essentially common sense and good farm practice. They also list approved Organic Certifying agencies in Quebec and worldwide that meet their standards. I don't see the Maritime Certified Organic Growers Association listed there, though.


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## rondini (Dec 6, 2001)

Further to my above comments. Vancouver now has a boil water advisory and people are being advised to drink bottled water.
Always funny how the municipal water interests bad-mouth bottled water, until their systems fail. Then it's "drink bottled water, everyone"
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