Chile Forum

I'm moving to Chile next week (I think), but I've never been there. So I'm wondering, is food labeling just in Spanish? I'm mainly interested in finding out where my food comes from. And if it's been grown with pesticides, or if it's organic (not sure what term is in Chile). Or do they even label food in Chile, like they do in the U.S.?

thisisreallycomplicated wrote:I'm moving to Chile next week (I think), but I've never been there. So I'm wondering, is food labeling just in Spanish? I'm mainly interested in finding out where my food comes from. And if it's been grown with pesticides, or if it's organic (not sure what term is in Chile). Or do they even label food in Chile, like they do in the U.S.?

I rarely see labels in english, for the most part only those products for exportation. This is a good opportunity for you to learn spanish and get acquainted with the names of different items or products. I have seen fresh organic produce.

thisisreallycomplicated wrote:I'm moving to Chile next week (I think), but I've never been there.

As a newbie, I would suggest for you to do your "homework" and lots of reading right here in this forum. There are tons of subjects and I'm sure all your questions will be answered. Please take notes and you'll be one step ahead from the rest. To be prepared is the "motto" of a good boy/girl scout!

I'm going to start learning Spanish on the plane, and then I'm sure I'll have plenty more opportunities:) I'll need to learn how to ask for directions to the bathroom first. And then go from there. Anyway, I'm mainly worried about my first couple hours in the country, since I'm going to be really hungry when I get there. And I'm hoping to find stuff grown in Chile, and without pesticides. Where stuff is grown, is my first priority. Then pesticide use.

On the imported stuff, you can often just pull off the Chilean label that is stuck onto the jar/packet, but locally (and imported from non English countries) produced items obviously only have Spanish. It lists the nutritional value, ingredients (eg. if it has msg etc. but doesn't specify the codes of artificial colourings and other additives like they do in Australia) states which country it was produced in and whether it is certified organic. Is that what you mean?

I'll be reading as much as I have time for. But I'm pretty short on time now, so I'm just trying to figure out some last minute details.

thisisreallycomplicated wrote:I'll be reading as much as I have time for. But I'm pretty short on time now, so I'm just trying to figure out some last minute details.

you might just have to go hungry then

Tombi wrote:On the imported stuff, you can often just pull off the Chilean label that is stuck onto the jar/packet, but locally (and imported from non English countries) produced items obviously only have Spanish. It lists the nutritional value, ingredients (eg. if it has msg etc. but doesn't specify the codes of artificial colourings and other additives like they do in Australia) states which country it was produced in and whether it is certified organic. Is that what you mean?

I'll be happy if I can figure out what country it came from, and if it's "organic". I'm not really worried if it's "certified" organic. I'm just trying to avoid pesticides. I stay away from processed foods, so I don't typically have to worry about a long list of ingredients. But I guess stuff like pasta, or canned tomatoes, could have some stuff I'd like to avoid. Pulling off the Chilean label will definitely help. Thanks for the idea.

You are going to struggle if you are looking for organic stuff when you step off the plane. There are a few organic supermarkets (limited stock and very expensive) and organic products in some big supermarkets (like Jumbo), but for example NO meat or fish and very limited dairy etc. This is not a good place to move to if you are used to Wholefoods around the corner and big organic sections in supermarkets and lovely organic farmer's markets. Also, if you have any hope in eating mostly organic (you will probably have to become vegan), you will need to live in Santiago and bring money. Lots of it.

I can't think of any restaurants in Santiago that serve organic food, other than one or two café style places like http://www.vop.cl/

Good luck, I hope I don't sound too negative, but you will need to adjust your expectations a bit, if you want my honest advice.

Further to that;

www.organisk.cl - they have two shops, one in Providencia and one in Vitacura. The Vitacura one is much better imo
www.apiopalta.cl (they do a little market every Saturday in Vitacura - http://mercadorganico.wordpress.com/)
http://www.inforganic.com/node/1789
http://ecoferia.cl/ - bookmark this for when you get your head around Spanish

Buy veggies and fruits from small and family operators at the local weekly ferias not the large scale grown, tasteless, chem warfare crap in the mainline supermarkets.

Bring liters of a good veggie wash with you.

Bring a good block filter with a specific module for removing fluoride or a portable reverse osmosis filter. The water company is not your friend.

Bring a 2-3 months or more supply of supplements like antioxidants as the prices here are insane and you must wait 4-6 weeks for a small mail order package to get here. Your body will need it in air polluted and stressful Santiasco (assuming this is where you will be living).