Organic Food in Singapore is for rich people (& Zenxin review)

If you're broke, organic food is going to be tough.  I've been buying organic food & feeling the pinch of the costs. If I'm rich, of course it's nothing.

I read that organic produce in US is cheap. Just 10 US cents more than non-organic. One woman blogger said that Australian organic produce are so cheap & plentiful unlike in Singapore.

Yesterday, I bought 2 small packets of organic onions, 1 packet of organic ginger  & 1 small organic broccoli. $15+. Expensive.  And that's already cheaper than Zenxin. Good thing is that it's fresher than Zenxin.

Frankly, Zenxin is lousy. Their vegetables can't keep, not even 1 day. Means their produce is not fresh in the supermarket. Coming from Thailand & other countries, by the time they get to the shelves, it's already how many days old. In fact, while on the shelves, the leaves are already yellowish. Very seldom the leaves are fresh.

Zenxin is also dishonest. Example #1, the potatoes are packed in a way that hides spoilage.  So when you buy home a packet and turn a potato around, you might find that there's a rotten hole or dent that couldn't be seen from the outside. This is not accidental. The person who packed it did it purposely. Example #2:  tomatoes may have an open cut down one side that is not noticed during purchase.

I've stopped buying Zenxin for a while already.  Not fresh & expensive. Costs more than other organic produce from other places.  Only very occasionally, I may buy their maize.

And very few Zenxin products are from Australia. Majority of their items are cheaply produced in Thailand which I don't like.
 
Thailand's soil, water & air are polluted. Look at the number of transgenders coming from there. Pesticides. Even if the items are stated organic, the soil is poor. The produce are of poor quality.

Other items are from Malaysia & China.  Countries with poor soil & pesticides. Even if that area of cultivation is certified organic, the soil is still poor.

Also, Zenxin harvests their vegetables too late? The leaves are very tough & large. Fibrous (too old) & inedible.

Some time ago, I bought their Xiao Bai Cai a few times & they were always bitter.  Strange. I stopped buying.  The non-organic Xiao Bai Cai never tasted bitter. I've also tried a local organic farm's Xiao Bai Cai recently & they aren't bitter.

Organic produce should be cheap or at least cost just a little more than non-organic. It's an excuse to charge more by saying that there are more losses for producing organic compared to non-organic crops.

No pesticides use (or no synthetic chemical pesticides) does not necessarily equate to greater losses. There are natural methods to prevent losses. For example: Using nets. Using biological controls (natural predators of pests), using organic pesticides & fungicides derived from other plants. Utilizing crop rotation to minimize colonization of pests for any particular crop.

Since Zenxin is a Malaysian company,  it's no surprise it doesn't source from our local Singapore farms.

Local organic farm produce are cheaper than Zenxin & of course fresher (even if the soil may not be as fertile or good as Australian soil).

Many years ago while I was choosing fruits at NTUC supermarket, a man (supplier or staff) told me that Australian produce is good because their soil is good.  He firmly said so & nodded while telling me.

Buying local organic farm produce, I find that the vegetables are able to keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.  It's a safe bet that they were harvested on the day of my purchase from a reseller shop. The leaves are fresh & green, the stalks are freshly cut. And it's a big bag.

Zenxin should be edged out of the supermarket shelves by a better & superior rival. Don't know why Giant supermarket only has Zenxin. Useless.

Oddly, our local organic farm produce don't appear on supermarket shelves & those interested have to make long trips to the individual farms. Odd because in other countries, their organic farm produce have markets & fairs among the communities.

I still haven't gotten enough enthusiasm to make the Kranji Express bus trip. It's just sooo farrr awayy...

With the high prices of just a few packets of organic produce, I end up eating less vegetables. I won't buy non-organic anymore.  If only there were more organic produce from Australia coming to Singapore & at cheaper, more affordable prices.

These non-organic companies are terrible. Even bananas are not safe. 

Unfortunately, non-organic bananas are really delicious. I love them very much. Easy, convenient & nutritious. But I've quit bananas after reading articles on banana pesticides.

Sad.

Unfortunately, organic bananas are very rare in organic shops. Seriously Rare. When they do appear in organic shops, they are green & don't seem able to ripen in the shop.

You people in Australia are lucky to have organic produce easily accessible & cheap. Don't take it for granted.