| Organic certification is the process
used to verify that organic farmers and processors are living up to the standards or
organic production. Certification give substance to the organic label by documenting the
methods and materials used to produce organic foods. In fact, once upcoming national
regulations go into effect, it will be a federal offense to label any product as
"organic" unless the grower or processor has been certified. There are three main parts to the certification process:
1.) The Organic Plan is a document
organic farmers or processors submit to a third-party certifying organization showing how
they will meet organic standards while raising their crops or producing their processed
product.
For example, an Organic Farm Plan would address
such things as weed and insect control, compost ingredients, and even where seeds will be
purchased and how starter plants will be grown in the greenhouse. An Organic Handling Plan
(the document processors would develop) would detail all processing methods and all
ingredients sued, as well as storage, cleaning and waste disposal methods at the facility.
2.) Record Keeping. Organic
farmers and processors keep on-going records of how they have gone about meeting the
requirements of their Organic Plan. These records become part of a verifiable audit trail
which makes it possible to trace a product on a store shelf back to the processing
facility and farm.
3.) Annual Inspections are carried
out by the third-party certifying organizations to ensure that organic farmers and
processors are following the requirements of their Organic Plans.
This three-step process is as important to
consumers as it is to the growers and processors who participate in it. Certification is
your guarantee that the organic label means what it says.
©Organic Trade Association |
