Organic Integrity in Canadian Standards, Certification

1
Organic Integrity in Canadian
Standards, Certification Regulation

• An October 2008 Overview
• Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada
• Janine G. Gibson, Trainer
• Accredited Inspector
• International Organic Inspectors Association
• Past President
• Canadian Organic Growers

2
Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Regulation Implementation

• The new Organics Product Regulation comes into
  force June 30, 2009 www.canadagazette.gc.ca/partII
  /2008/20080917/html/sor279-e.html

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity-Standards Principles

• Protect the environment, minimize soil loss,
  decrease pollution, optimize biological
  productivity and promote a sound state of health
• Maintain long term soil fertility by optimizing
  conditions for biological activity within the
  soil

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity-Standards Principles

• Maintain biological diversity within the system
• Recycle materials and resources to the greatest
  extent possible within the enterprise
• Provide attentive care that promotes the health
  and meets the behavioural needs of livestock

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity-Standards Principles

• Prepare organic products, emphasizing careful
  processing and handling methods in order to
  maintain the organic integrity and vital
  qualities of the products at all stages of
  production
• Rely on renewable resources in locally organized
  agricultural systems

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity-Standards Overview

• Required Practices include
• using well designed crop rotations
• building soil organic matter
• maintaining detailed records of use of inputs,
  activity records and sales
• keeping accurate, detailed farm maps

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity-Standards Overview

• Prohibited practices methods include
• Use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides and
  fertilizers
• Use of genetically engineered organisms
• Use of sewage sludge as an amendment
• Use of irradiation in processing

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity-Standards

• Standards fulfill functions for different groups
  and purposes
• Guarantees information to consumers on organic
  integrity
• Promotion of good practice by guiding organic
  producers

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Standards

• Organic Standards
• Tool for use of the Precautionary Principle
  (exclusion of worst known toxins)
• Maintain a base for inspection, certification
  accreditation

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity-Standards

• The Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB)
  Technical Committee on Organic Agriculture
• Balances interests and abilities in its
  representation on crops, livestock PSL working
  groups

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity-Standards

• The Canadian Organic Standard (COS)
• CGSB/CAN 32.310-2009 Organic Production
  Systems-General Principles and Management
  Standards
• Organic Production Systems Permitted Substances
  List (PSL) 32.311-2009

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Standards

• Harmonizes with
• the US National Organic Program (NOP) Rule 7 CFR
  Part 205
• EU Council Regulation 2092/91
• Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS)

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Standards

• Harmonizes with Codex Alimentarius Guidelines for
  the Production, Processing, Marketing Labelling
  of Organic Foods
• International Federation of Organic Agriculture
  Movements (IFOAM) Standard for Standards
  informed

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Certification

• Certification is a system of regulation
• Ensures organic producers comply with Canadian
  and international standards of organic production
  and processing

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Certification

• Demand for certification rose from consumer need
• Accurately describe an environmentally sound
  production process
• Assures consumers that organic producers and
  processors follow strict quality standards

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Certification

• Certification protects farmers and processors by
• validating they are following organic
  production practices
• accredited certification bodies care called ACBs
  or CBs

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Certification

• Most certification bodies are non profit
  organizations originally formed by farmers in
  local areas
• A producer chooses a specific agency by - The
  product market
• The organic standards in use
• The costs involved

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Regulation

• CFIA implements the Canadian Agricultural
  Products (CAP) Act
• The Organic Regulation falls under the
  jurisdiction of CAP
• CFIA becomes the Competent Authority
  recognizing Evaluators of Organic Certification
  Bodies and oversight of standards implementation

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Regulation

• To function as the competent authority CFIA
  created the Canadian Organic Office (COO)
• To work in partnership with the Canadian Organic
  Sector
• Overseeing the Canadian Organic Regime (COR)

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Regulation Input

• The Organic Federation of Canada (OFC) - member
  organizations from each province across Canada
• Members chose Directors and ex officio Provincial
  Gov Reps from all regions plus one national trade
  seat

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Regulation Process

• The OFC the COO, are designing the
  implementation process of the regulation
• Coordinating industry input
• Ensuring amendments meet needs of the sector

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Regulation Parts

• The Organic Products Regulation has five sections
  now a brief interpretation section of five
  definitions
• Part 1 defining organic products
• Part 2 defining certification bodies
• Part 3 defining organic certification
• Part 4 defining labelling requirements

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Regulation Scope

• Food and drink for humans
• Food for livestock
• Cultivation of plants
• Does NOT include
• Aquaculture, Textiles
• Fertilizers
• Cosmetics, Health Care Products

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Regulation

• Labelling rules covered under the regulation or
  standard referenced where appropriate
• Logo under revision as previous model implied
  imported organic products were made in Canada
• Logo use remains voluntary

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Regulation

• Importers do not need to be certified
• Importers must maintain documentation product
  meets Canadian Organic Regime (COR) requirements
• Exported products must meet the standard of the
  country exported to IF country has agreement with
  COO

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- CVBs

• COO will provide provisional list of approved
  CVBs
• Those who have applied to be recognized to
  oversee certifiers
• These include the four accreditors currently
  monitoring certifiers in Canada

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- CVBs

• Certified Organic Associations of British
  Columbia (COABC) www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca
• Standards Council of Canada (SCC) www.scc.ca

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- CVBs

• Committee of Accreditation for Evaluation of
  Quality (CAEQ of the CARTV) www.caeq.ca Conseil
  des appellations reserves et des termes
  valorisants www.cartvquebec.com
• International Organic Accreditation Service
  (IOAS) www.ioas.org

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- CVBs Possible

• As well as the four CVBs already working in
  Canada a fifth has applied
• DAP German Accreditation System for Testing
  www.dap.de
• Michel Saumur, National Manager of COO will
  release updates
• msaumur_at_inspection.gc.ca 613-221-7165

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- CVBs

• CVBs require ACBs to make public their list of
  certified organic operators
• The public can access these lists from the CVBs
  to verify if a specific operator is certified
  organic
• Requesting a copy of a current organic
  certificate also verifies an operations organic
  status

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Regulation Implementation

• To minimize disruption during the implementation
  period
• A Stream of Commerce Policy has been designed
  along with
• A Quality Manual of administrative guidance

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity - Current Stakeholders

• 25 Accredited Certification Bodies (ACBs)
  recognized by
• Four (IOAS, CAEQ, COABC, SCC) internationally
  recognized third party accreditors/CVBs
• List can be found at www.cog.ca

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity-Stakeholders

• All require an Organic System Plan based on
  Precautionary Principle (exclusion of worst known
  toxins)
• The Organic System Plan a Systems approach to
  preventative measures

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity-Stakeholders

• International Organic Inspectors Association
  (IOIA) training and accreditation of third party
  organic inspectors who assess
• Production Risk management
• Organic System Plan Compliance with certification
  agency organic standards, policies and procedures

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Stakeholders

• Canadian members of the IOIA Canadian Organic
  Growers (COG) play key roles in
• Ensuring the National Standard harmonizes with
  International Organic Standards yet supports all
  scales of production

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity- Stakeholders

• Supports OFC COO on the implementation of the
  regulation enforcing truth in organic labeling
• Assures quality training for organic inspectors
  as well as quality organic production training

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Canadian Organic Regime Overview
1.
Canadian Organic Office (COO) of CFIA
Overseeing
Organic Federation of Canada (OFC)
Overseeing
2.
Development and maintenance of regulations/standar
d
7.
COO/OFC Committee?
Verification or audit of CBs
Accreditors/ CVBs
Verification or audit
CFIA
9.
11.
CGSB
AAFC
CFIA
Import controls
Communication

3.
OFC COG
3rd party CFIA- CVBs CAEQ SCC COABC IOAS
CCRA
Accreditation/ CVBs of Certification Bodies (CBs)
Accredition of certification bodies
6.
Export Certification of Organic products
3rd Party CBs
8.
Monitoring/ Surveillance of product
CFIA
Registration of operators
4.
3rd party -CBs
Registration of Operators
10.
Equivalency of system recognition
5.
CFIA
Inspection or verification of operators
Inspection or verification of operators
Provinces ? (2)
3rd Party -CBs -IOIA
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Websites

• Organic Products Regulation www.canadagazette.
  gc.ca
• OP Regulation Amendment www.canadagazette.gc.ca/pa
  rtII/2008/20080917/html/sor279-e.html
• Canadian Organic Office www.inspection.gc.ca

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Websites

• Organic Federation of Canada www.organicfederation
  .ca
• COG www.cog.ca
• IOIA www.ioia.net

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Websites

• COABC www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca
• CAEQ www.caeq.ca
• SCC www.scc.ca
• IOAS www.ioas.org

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Websites

• Conseil des appellations reserves et des termes
  valorisants (CARTV) www.cartvquebec.com
• DAP German Accreditation System for Testing
  www.dap.de
• ISO www.iso.org/iso/home.htm

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Measures in Building Organic
Integrity

• Thank you for your attention interest in
  supporting more sustainable agricultural
  production in Canada!