Food that is cultivated and/or processed without the use of chemicals of any sort including fertilizers, insecticides, artificial coloring or flavoring and additives. Although consumers assume that foods labeled organic are as pure as possible, the truth is that — while many states have their own organic food laws — there are no consistent regulations guiding and/or governing the standards of organic food producers. This means that chemical cross-contamination (through shipping, wind, water leeching, etc. ) is, with some growers and shippers, a possibility. In 1990, Congress passed the Federal Organic Foods Production Act, which called for national organic food guidelines including certification of growers and standards for organic food production, monitoring crops for chemical contamination and livestock for living conditions and screening organic imports. At this writing, however, this Act has yet to go into effect. That same year (1990), California, long at the vanguard of the organic food movement, established the United States' toughest state food standards with its California Organic Food Act, which goes so far as to inspect produce on market shelves. Until the Federal Organic Foods Production Act is implemented, the consumer's best safeguard for reliable organic food is to buy from a reputable purveyor.