08/30/2026
my rules for buying pasta:
✅ Check for “100% Italian wheat” (grano 100% italiano) or a named growing region on the label, not just “Product of Italy. No disclosed wheat origin = treat it as possibly imported and pre-harvest desiccated (herbicide application).
✅ US-made: require USDA Organic. That’s the one label that actually bars glyphosate use. A “clean” or “no pesticides” claim without organic certification isn’t enforced the same way.
✅ Skip anything labeled “enriched” wheat flour or semolina. Folic acid fortification in the US is legally tied to that “enriched” standard of identity, so it only applies if the product uses that word. Folic acid fortification isn’t mandatory across the board in the US, only for foods labeled enriched — flour can be sold without added vitamins, but enriched flour can’t. Genuine Italian semolina pasta usually isn’t enriched to start with, so this one is often already satisfied once you’ve cleared the first two rules.
