Organic Certification of food
This article is really a short compilation of our understanding of “what is organic food”. How does the label “Organic” get on a food sold to the public. What does it actually mean. Points are taken from various online sources, liturature references and government regulations with the corresponding links to the original full source provided. Mostly focussed on Australian standards and certification.
NASAA
“Formed in 1986, The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia (NASAA) supports the education of industry and consumers on organic, biodynamic and sustainable agricultural practices.”
Australian Certified Organic
“ACO provides certification services to operators from all sectors of the organic industry. Certification ensures compliance with national production standards and allows trace back of all products to their origin.”
Extended Definition of Organic Farming
Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost, and biological pest control. Depending on whose definition is used, organic farming uses fertilizers and pesticides (which include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides) if they are considered natural (such as bone meal from animals or pyrethrin from flowers), but it excludes or strictly limits the use of various methods (including synthetic petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides; plant growth regulators such as hormones; antibiotic use in livestock; genetically modified organisms; human sewage sludge; and nanomaterials in pursuit of goals including sustainability, openness, independence, health, and safety.
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_farming
Great wiki article entitled Organic certification on organic and biodynamic certification protocols in various countries.
Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food processors, retailers and restaurants.
“The certification of primary production land to Organic status (in Australia) can take anywhere from 12 months to 36 months depending on prior history. See below ‘Converting to Certified Organic’ diagram.” — from http://aco.net.au/certification-process/
From wikipedia article — Organic food
Processed organic food usually contains only organic ingredients. If non-organic ingredients are present, at least a certain percentage of the food’s total plant and animal ingredients must be organic (95% in the United States, Canada, and Australia).
Pesticides are allowed as long as they are not synthetic.
In the United States, however, under US federal organic standards, if pests and weeds are not controllable through management practices, nor via organic pesticides and herbicides, “a substance included on the National List of synthetic substances allowed for use in organic crop production may be applied to prevent, suppress, or control pests, weeds, or diseases.”
see http://fyi.uwex.edu/wihortupdate/files/2015/05/National_List.pdf and https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/205.601 and http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div8&node=7:3.1.1.9.32.7.354.2
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div6&node=7:3.1.1.9.32.7
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/FST-56.pdf
Nice infographics from the Organics Trade Association (OTA) — see below
See more at National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances on the OTA website
