Organic food is often perceived as the food grown in farms without any involvement of artificial methods such as applying pesticides, herbicides, and genetic modification. But in developed countries like US, Japan, and other countries the term organic is precisely defined by the government and there are certain rules prescribed regarding the quantity of production. No individual can use this term unless it satisfies the defined criteria.

There are two broad categories of organic food.

1. Fresh food
2. Processed food.

Fresh organic foods are produced without any involvement of artificial chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics etc. and are usually the products of farming. They are highly perishable in nature and are not available in all the seasons.

Processed organic foods contain more of organic ingredients but are subjected to manufacturing processes unlike the fresh organic food. They are not prepared with artificial flavors and artificial methods such as chemical ripening and food irradiation.

Today, organic processed food occupies a predominant position compared to fresh food. In the earlier days when a consumer wished to buy consumable goods he personally visited the farmer to fetch the food he needed. But today, the direct link between the farmer and the buyer does not exist. The consumers will first obviously visit the market place to buy the kind of food they want. But they will not be able to correctly identify the quality product, as they do not personally observe the farming practices. In order to provide a quality assurance to these goods they are strictly certified and labeled by the law. Therefore it builds a sense of goodwill in the minds of consumers.