Organic Food in the Costa Calida
Organic Dried Goods, Rice, Beans, Pasta etc
You can get a wide range of dried organic food (rice, pasta, nuts, seeds etc) in the health food shops (Herbolarios). The herbolario Hierbabuena in Torre Pacheco has a good turnover and is very popular.
In San Javier there is a lovely Herbolario, called Asana, which not only sells a wide range of organic products but also offers massages and organic facial treatments. They speak some English too. asanabienestar.com
There is well stocked Herbolario in the centre of San Pedro del Pinatar (the prices seem to be a bit higher here than other places).
There is an excellent herbolario North West of Murcia, which is called La Tienda Verde. It is a good option if you are coming from the direction of Alhama de Murcia, Molina or Ricote etc. The address is Las Torres de Cotillas (Murcia), C/ Andrés Segovia, 55. Telephone: 968 62 31 83. La Tienda Verde also have a branch in Mazarron, at Avenida Constitución 99.
Herbolarios will order products for you if they haven't got them in. For example, we order 5kg packets of organic wholegrain rice, as it is a lot cheaper to buy it that way (about 11 Euros for 5kg) and it uses less packaging. Nearly every village has one or more herbolario and you can search on google for the closest to you. However, some of the smaller health food shops do not have a good turnover for all the products.
Aldi and Lidls range of organic products has really expanded, including soup, millet, cous cous, quinoa, honey, rice cakes, biscuits, juice, pasta, jam, vegetable spreads, herbal tea much more. Organic eggs and wine are also sold - not in the same organic aisle but in the egg/wine section. The products tend to be good value and are all put together in one place in the store so it makes it really easy to see what they have got.
The larger supermarkets (e.g. Al Campo, Carrefour) are gradually increasing their ranges of organic dried goods, such as pasta/rice etc. El Corte Inglés has various organic products. The prices in El Corte Inglés are normally higher than elsewhere.
The British supermarket 'Iceland' in San Javier sells a few branded organic goods that come from the UK, such as tea, porridge oats.
Organic Honey
Aldi sells various variety of tasty organic honey.
Organic oils - olive, sunflower, hemp, sesame etc
The best organic oils seem to be in the good herbolarios where you can get great tasting organic sunflower oil, organic olive oil etc. There is an organic shop in Totana called La Eco-Reserva, which sells large containers of olive oil and you can ask them if it is from this year (in Spanish). The olive harvest is at the end of the summer, and if you buy oils that are from the previous harvest they will taste sharper as they will have deteriorated during the year. Many supermarkets sell organic olive oil, but you may have to shop around as sometimes they are a bit sharp. La Eco-Reserva also sells large packets and containers of local organic almonds. (Many almonds in supermarkets are imported.)
Organic Wine
The larger supermarkets such as Carrefour, Al Campo in La Zenia or in Thader in Murcia sell a number of organic wines at various prices. Aldi and Lidl sells one Organic wine at a little less than 3 Euros a bottle. Sometimes at the Artesan markets, for example in Bullas on the first Sunday of every month, there are organic wines for sale.
Organic Eggs
Aldi and the large supermarkets sell organic eggs (Carrefour, Al Campo) and the farm Antigua Vida Nueva (see fruit and vegetables page) can supply very fresh organic eggs. Most supermarkets including Mercadona sell free range eggs ('Camperos' or 'de gallinas camperas'), which are not organic but in my opinion better than the eggs from caged hens. Eggs from caged hens are more normal in Spain than in the UK.
Organic Meat
The easiest place to buy organic meat in the Campo de Cartagena area is from Orgavita, who will deliver fresh organic meat to your door along with fruit, vegetables and other organic goods. They have bacon, pork, chicken, beef and ham. Meat only appears on the website from Saturday to Tuesday, so you need to order it between these days.
Al Campo supermarket (Thader in Murcia and La Zenia) sell organic chicken, pork and beef mince. It arrives in on a Thursday of each week, so to buy it fresh it is best to go on a Thursday or a Friday. Murcia lacks natural pasture land and many animals are kept in big metal warehouse structures and are fed artificial feed so buying organic meat becomes more relevant.
Buying at markets
The majority of the food in the markets isn't organic and I have never found any that is certified organic there, but occasionally there are people that sell eggs, or honey from local sources. Normally they are not registered as organic, as it is too difficult for them to register. So you have to judge for yourself how much of what they say is true about how the products are cultivated.
You can get a wide range of dried organic food (rice, pasta, nuts, seeds etc) in the health food shops (Herbolarios). The herbolario Hierbabuena in Torre Pacheco has a good turnover and is very popular.
In San Javier there is a lovely Herbolario, called Asana, which not only sells a wide range of organic products but also offers massages and organic facial treatments. They speak some English too. asanabienestar.com
There is well stocked Herbolario in the centre of San Pedro del Pinatar (the prices seem to be a bit higher here than other places).
There is an excellent herbolario North West of Murcia, which is called La Tienda Verde. It is a good option if you are coming from the direction of Alhama de Murcia, Molina or Ricote etc. The address is Las Torres de Cotillas (Murcia), C/ Andrés Segovia, 55. Telephone: 968 62 31 83. La Tienda Verde also have a branch in Mazarron, at Avenida Constitución 99.
Herbolarios will order products for you if they haven't got them in. For example, we order 5kg packets of organic wholegrain rice, as it is a lot cheaper to buy it that way (about 11 Euros for 5kg) and it uses less packaging. Nearly every village has one or more herbolario and you can search on google for the closest to you. However, some of the smaller health food shops do not have a good turnover for all the products.
Aldi and Lidls range of organic products has really expanded, including soup, millet, cous cous, quinoa, honey, rice cakes, biscuits, juice, pasta, jam, vegetable spreads, herbal tea much more. Organic eggs and wine are also sold - not in the same organic aisle but in the egg/wine section. The products tend to be good value and are all put together in one place in the store so it makes it really easy to see what they have got.
The larger supermarkets (e.g. Al Campo, Carrefour) are gradually increasing their ranges of organic dried goods, such as pasta/rice etc. El Corte Inglés has various organic products. The prices in El Corte Inglés are normally higher than elsewhere.
The British supermarket 'Iceland' in San Javier sells a few branded organic goods that come from the UK, such as tea, porridge oats.
Organic Honey
Aldi sells various variety of tasty organic honey.
Organic oils - olive, sunflower, hemp, sesame etc
The best organic oils seem to be in the good herbolarios where you can get great tasting organic sunflower oil, organic olive oil etc. There is an organic shop in Totana called La Eco-Reserva, which sells large containers of olive oil and you can ask them if it is from this year (in Spanish). The olive harvest is at the end of the summer, and if you buy oils that are from the previous harvest they will taste sharper as they will have deteriorated during the year. Many supermarkets sell organic olive oil, but you may have to shop around as sometimes they are a bit sharp. La Eco-Reserva also sells large packets and containers of local organic almonds. (Many almonds in supermarkets are imported.)
Organic Wine
The larger supermarkets such as Carrefour, Al Campo in La Zenia or in Thader in Murcia sell a number of organic wines at various prices. Aldi and Lidl sells one Organic wine at a little less than 3 Euros a bottle. Sometimes at the Artesan markets, for example in Bullas on the first Sunday of every month, there are organic wines for sale.
Organic Eggs
Aldi and the large supermarkets sell organic eggs (Carrefour, Al Campo) and the farm Antigua Vida Nueva (see fruit and vegetables page) can supply very fresh organic eggs. Most supermarkets including Mercadona sell free range eggs ('Camperos' or 'de gallinas camperas'), which are not organic but in my opinion better than the eggs from caged hens. Eggs from caged hens are more normal in Spain than in the UK.
Organic Meat
The easiest place to buy organic meat in the Campo de Cartagena area is from Orgavita, who will deliver fresh organic meat to your door along with fruit, vegetables and other organic goods. They have bacon, pork, chicken, beef and ham. Meat only appears on the website from Saturday to Tuesday, so you need to order it between these days.
Al Campo supermarket (Thader in Murcia and La Zenia) sell organic chicken, pork and beef mince. It arrives in on a Thursday of each week, so to buy it fresh it is best to go on a Thursday or a Friday. Murcia lacks natural pasture land and many animals are kept in big metal warehouse structures and are fed artificial feed so buying organic meat becomes more relevant.
Buying at markets
The majority of the food in the markets isn't organic and I have never found any that is certified organic there, but occasionally there are people that sell eggs, or honey from local sources. Normally they are not registered as organic, as it is too difficult for them to register. So you have to judge for yourself how much of what they say is true about how the products are cultivated.