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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.

Organic Standards

Organic certification is based upon documents called organic standards. The current National Standard and the new Australian Standard AS6000 are based upon two international standards, one operated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture program (FAO) – otherwise known as the CODEX Alimentarious Standard for Organic Produce, and another operated by the International Federation for Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) (the peak body for the organic industry), known as the IFOAM Norms or the IFOAM Basic Standard, and on national standards operated by other countries.

The new Australian Standard AS6000 came into effect in October 2009. Over the next 12-24 months we expect the AS6000 to replace the National Standard.

Organic standards set out the minimum requirements for production, processing and labelling of organic produce. They also establish the minimum requirements for inspection of individuals producing organic products, and the minimum requirements for certifying organic operators.

Any producer or processor who wants to export produce that is labelled organic or biodynamic must demonstrate compliance with at least the requirements of the standard. To achieve this certification, producers and processors need to be certified by one of the Australian Quarantine & Inspection Service (AQIS) accredited Certifying Bodies.

There are a number of Certifying Bodies (CBs) in Australia.  Visit the Certifier Choice section on this website for further information.

Some Australian CB’s use the National Standard only but some publish their own Standard, which complies with the National Standard, and may have additional requirements covering farming activities and record keeping obligations. We will call these the ‘certification standard’, as they are the documents used in the field by inspectors (or auditors).

If you do plan to gain certification, an early part of your research process should be to obtain a copy of the National Standard, which can be downloaded from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (232Kb pdf) website or the CBs certification standard from one of the CB’s, and study them in detail. Apart from educating yourself about the requirements, reading the standards will give you a good sense of whether you can comply with the growing systems and record keeping procedures required.

Growers who apply for certification generally sign a statutory declaration that they have:

• Read and understood the Standard
• Are growing according to the Standard
• Intend to continue to grow according to the Standard, and
• Have provided accurate information concerning their growing practices

Organic certification requires that produce can be tracked all the way ‘from paddock to plate’. Inspection of organic producers and handlers by CB’s ensures that there is a complete audit chain that can prove organic produce has been grown, harvested, stored and transported in a way that protects the produce from contamination by synthetic chemicals or radiation. Organic produce therefore is sold almost exclusively through direct outlets or via certified organic wholesalers and retailers. This also explains why organic produce in supermarkets is always wrapped and not loose – it has been collated and packaged in certified establishments to comply with the audit chain requirement.

Advantages of certification

The principle advantage of certification is access to the organic marketplace and the premiums paid for organic produce. The individual CB’s vary considerably in the support services they offer to their certified operators, but most do offer access to farmer networks, field days and maybe some downloadable information from their website. The CB’s often arrange delegations to the major organic trade fairs and events around the world [TMO story to be written about organic trade fairs] and may provide links to buyers and processors of organic produce.

The certification standards are also a useful guide to what is considered as bona-fide organic practices.

There are also disadvantages to certification, including:

• It requires the payment of fees and charges
• It requires at least 12 months of organic practice before produce can be marketed as, ‘in conversion to organic’ and at least 36 months before produce may be sold as, ‘organic’ 
• It requires that growers work only within the rules or Standards and therefore with a limited range of inputs or practices, and
• It requires detailed record keeping of purchases, practices and sales, and regular inspection.

It is also important to note that while being certified to the National Standard allows you to export to international markets with greater ease, some individual certifying organizations in other countries may have additional certification requirements

The decision to apply for organic certification is something each person needs to decide for him or herself based on the benefits and disadvantages. A benefit of the process of converting is that certification becomes part of your normal business planning and is treated as an integral aspect of the system you operate under. Visit the Certifier Choice section on this website for further information.