subject: Do we need organic certification? [print this page] The question we're asking is, do we need to have a system in place to ensure that products advertised as organic are actually organic or should we simply trust everyone involved in the organic supply chain to do the right thing? and get rid of certification, cutting out swathes of bureaucracy, checks and EU red tape in the process.
It's useful to first consider the "organic supply chain" and what that means. This chain is the collection of steps involved in creating an organic product, starting from preparing the land, all the way until it ends up with the end customer. Let's consider an example and see what a simplified chain could look like.
Maqui Berry capsules. Firstly, the land where the maqui berry is grown must have been free from pesticides and fertilizers for a certain period of time. The berries must be grown in a manner that complies with organic regulations. Once grown, the berries are processed, typically in two stages. Firstly, to create a puree and then secondly, to convert this puree into a powder that is suitable for encapsulation. All processing must be carried out by an organically certified processor. Often the puree is manufactured where themaqui is grown in Chile and then shipped to an organic processor in the US where it is converted into a powder. This powder is then imported into the UK by a manufacturer (e.g. Rainforest Foods) and passed to another organically certified processor to encapsulate the powder and bottle/package the capsules. The manufacturer then sells it to the public/other retailers. As you can see there's a lot of parties involved in making what is a relatively simple product.
Organic certification is the process that ensures that everyone in the above chain adheres to the rules and doesn't get tempted by aquick buck. The process is arduous and does add cost to the end product but it aims to ensure that the organic product a customer buys is actually organic. Certification is necessary because for many commodities, it is very difficult to tell the difference between organic and non-organic products without certification. Think of certification as ahallmark for organic food.
How can you tell whether an organic product is organically certified? That's quite easy, simply look for the organic certification code on the product. It should be made of three elements: country code, certifier code and organic certification description. For example, the code on all Soil Association products is "GB organic certification 5 (this willchange after July 2010). This code is on the product so that customers have someone they can contact to verify that the product is actually organic. Remember, if it doesn't have a code, it is not organically certified.
For more information check out the following sites:
EU organic website
Soil Association's organic standards
How do I know it's organic the Soil Association guide
List of UK organic certifiers and their certification codes
You can find out more about barely grass and other natural food supplements on the Rainforest Foods website at http://www.rainforestfoods.co.uk/.
