Laura Urbaitis used to travel a couple times a month to Whole Foods Market in Portland to load up on organic foods, such as apricots, beans and tomatoes.

She doesn't have to make the trip quite so often now.

Urbaitis, a raw food consultant from Winthrop, has been buying more of her food at Shaw's and Hannaford as the grocery chains' organic offerings have grown.

"Since they're jumping on board and bringing more produce here, we're trying to give our business to local stores instead of Whole Foods, which is owned out of Texas," she said.

ORGANIC SALES SOAR

The purchase of organic and natural products has grown dramatically in recent years.

According to the Organic Trade Association, the organic foods industry grew 16.2 percent in 2005, accounting for $13.8 billion in consumer sales.

The association predicts organic food sales will grow 11 percent annually through 2010.

This growth is driven by a variety of factors, including consumer interest in fresh foods that are tasty and environmentally friendly.

Barbara Haumann, spokeswoman for the organic trade group, said organic foods started with the hippies of the 1960s.

"Now it is more broad-based," she said. "You can find the products in almost any conventional supermarket."

MAJORS GO ORGANIC

Haumann said major food manufacturers that recognize the sales potential have been acquiring organic companies.

Kraft Foods owns Boca Burger Inc., the soy-based meat producer; Kellogg's owns Kashi Cereal, Morningstar Farms and Sunrise Organic; and Coca-Cola North America bought Odwalla Inc.

General Mills owns Small Planet Foods and its organic brand, Cascadian Farm.

Elizabeth Dallara, spokeswoman for Hannaford Bros., said the sale of organic and natural items at Hannaford increased more than 20 percent in 2006.

"Our new product line helps shoppers with their choice of lifestyle by providing them with a wide variety of quality organic and natural products," Dallara said.

She said Hannaford buys organic products from other countries, but also contracts with Maine organic farmers and manufacturers like Grandy Oats in Brownfield and the Moody Farm in Lincolnville.

GETTING CERTIFIED

Hannaford Bros. Co., a leading operator of supermarkets in the Northeast, has just completed a rigorous process to become a certified organic retailer.

The Maine-based company had to meet the strict guidelines of Quality Assurance International's Organic Certification Program for Retailers. The program verifies organic quality and integrity for organizations around the world.

Caren Epstein, Hannaford spokesperson, said requirements for obtaining certified organic retailer status are stringent. "It was well worth the effort, however, so our customers can be confident that we uphold the highest organic standards ensuring the organic integrity of our products," Epstein said.

Hannaford also recently introduced a new organic product line -- Nature's Place.

The store currently offers more than 3,500 organic and natural products representing about 10 percent of the 36,000 products available.

Shaw's Supermarkets has carried its organic label, Wild Harvest, since 1999. Judy Chong, director of communications and public affairs, said that company is in the process of becoming a certified retailer.

WAL-MART RESPONDS

And Wal-Mart, a company that has sold organic products for some time, began expanding its assortment of organic foods in certain stores because customers demanded a wider range of organic products.

"Organic offerings can be found throughout our stores with green signing for customer convenience," said Marisa Bluestone, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart. "We currently have more than 400 organic offerings company-wide for our stores to select from so they can tailor their organic assortment to best suit customer demand."

Bluestone said organic offerings at Wal-Mart include pasta, olive oil, coffee, tea, peanut butter, bread, fruits and vegetables, baby formula, cheese, ice cream and seafood.

The products are mixed in with conventional selections on the shelves.

She said Wal-Mart is the largest buyer of U.S. agricultural products in the world. Bluestone said all the store's selections meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture's standards for organic products.

IMPORTING

Ronnie Cummins, director of the Organic Consumers Association, an advocacy group that lobbies for strict standards and the preservation of small organic farms, said now that large companies like Wal-Mart, Kraft and General Mills have entered the market, American farmers can't grow enough to satisfy the demand.

With all this sudden activity, organic food manufacturers are having to rely on imports.

Organic soybeans are brought into the U.S. from China and Brazil, where prices are lower. And organic fruits and vegetables come from China and Mexico, as well as other countries.

With all the activity around the organic market, farmers want to be sure that the standards surrounding organic food production are not compromised.

Aaron Anker, one of the owners of Grandy Oats in Brownfield, said it's important to uphold the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program standards.

"That's the key to this whole puzzle," Anker said. "That's what is so important in our industry."

Joan Shaffer, spokesperson for the USDA's National Organic Program, said it was mandated in 1990 that the USDA develop organic standards. The program went into affect in 2002.

She said any organic product marketed in the United States must meet the National Organic Program standards and be certified by a USDA accredited certification agency.

"It doesn't matter if it is marketed organic two miles down the road or imported," Shaffer said. "It has to meet those standards."

Eric Rector, chairman of MOFGA's certification committee, said people can go to the USDA Web site at www.ams.usda.gov/NOP to check if a organic food product they purchased has been certified by an accredited certifying agent.

"Read the back of the label to see if it says certified by," Rector said. "That's a good sign. And make sure the certifier is accredited. That's positive assurance that what you have is true. If you don't see that, there's a pretty good chance that something isn't right."

LOCAL STORES UNAFFECTED

The owners of small, locally owned health food stores said they are doing just fine in light of big box supermarkets carrying more organic products.

Dean Bureau, owner of Uncle Dean's Good Groceries in Waterville, said his customers like the personal service they get from his employees, who are knowledgeable about the organic products he sells.

When Shaw's in Waterville -- located a mile down the road from his store -- put in an organic section years ago, it didn't affect his business at all, he said.

"There wasn't even a blimp on the radar," Bureau said. "We didn't notice anything. Period."

Karen Purinton also isn't afraid of losing out to supermarket chains and big box giants that have gone organic.

The owner of Harvest Time Natural Foods said she expects her customers to continue patronizing her shop next to the Capitol Shopping Center in Augusta.

Her natural produce and health food shop has a good reputation for service and product knowledge, two things she said you won't always find at Shaw's Supermarkets, Wal-Mart or Hannaford Bros.

"I don't think it's a bad thing," Purinton said about big stores getting into the organic market. "The more people exposed to organic food, the better off they are."

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, Ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com