What is organic certification?

Most producers who convert to organic growing methods will need to achieve organic certification in order to gain increased value from their production.

At the time of writing organic certification is not required to legally market organic products in Australia, although it is required to legally export products with an organic claim.

In practice, most reputable organic processors, wholesalers and retailers do require evidence of current certificates before they will purchase or sell organic products. In effect the export standard (the National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce, or simply ‘The National Standard’) is used by the domestic industry as a default standard.

Consumers of organic food also expect to see evidence of certification in shops or farm stalls and farmers markets, to provide a guarantee that organic produce is genuine. Consumers expect this guarantee because organic produce often costs more than non-organic, and because many organic consumers are specifically seeking the implied health and environmental benefits arising from organic farming practices.

Organic certification provides this guarantee. It is essentially a quality assurance program and, in many ways, is regulated and managed like a quality assurance program.