Triggered by this opinion article published by Straits Times, “Is organic food really free from pesticides?”, we decided to pay Zenxin Organic Park in Johor, Malaysia, a visit. Since we buy so much organic produce from Zenxin in Singapore, we wanted to learn – what makes a farm organic, if the produce are really free from pesticides and why is organic produce good for us? Before embarking on the farm tour details, I wanted to learn – what makes a farm an organic farm? Since 2008, the Zenxin production chain has been certified organic by NASAA Australia (www.nasaa.com.au), which is accredited by IFOAM, and they strictly comply to the international organic standards. Zenxin’s compost factory is Certified Organic Input Manufacturer, their farms are Certified Organic Producers and their processing houses are Certified Organic Processors. Mr Tai Sengyee, Executive Director of Zenxin Organic, explains that in order to be certified organic, the farm has to fulfill a few main criteria including: No synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides Natural source of water Sustainable system with 10% land set aside for …