What it means, the health benefits and all about that sneaky labelling.

Once just the food your childhood friend's hippie parents used to buy, today organic food has become as popular as man buns, superfoods and beards.

Organic food promises better taste, better nutrition and no chemicals, all at an increased price.

However, there is a lot of confusion surrounding organic labelling in that any product manufacturer can self-declare their product as organic.

To help you understand what 'organic' really means, whether organic food is better for you, and how to afford it on a budget, here's a simple guide to everything you want to know.

What organic means
Simply put, organic food refers to produce and other ingredients which are grown as they would have been before the introduction of pesticides, synthetic fertilisers or ionising radiation.

"Organic food needs to have been grown without the use of synthetic chemicals like pesticides or artificial fertilisers, without genetically modified components and without exposure to irradiation," Choice spokesperson, Nicky Breen, told The Huffington Post Australia.

This extends to animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products.

"For meat, poultry and fish, animal welfare is also addressed and they aren't fed growth-regulating drugs, steroids, hormones or antibiotics."

As we're all aware, this more natural process of farming means the price of its products are much higher.

The popularity
There's no doubt that organic food is growing in popularity and sales here in Australia. In fact, our country's organic industry has driven a record growth, with $1.72 billion in retail sales and exports in 2014.

To put this into shopper's terms, Woolworths alone sold more than 7.7 million kilograms of organic fruit and vegetables in the past year. The 10 most popular organic products at Woolies are:

• Carrots
• Diced tinned tomatoes
• Corn chips
• Full cream milk
• Coconut water
• Soy milk
• Passata
• Tinned chick peas
• Zucchinis
• Beef mince