A shopper checks out organic produce on sale at the Union Square Greenmarket, New York City. The U.S. enforces mandatory regulations governing organic produce. Canada adopted its own national standard at the end of 2006. (Richard Drew/Associated Press)
Consumers looking for organically grown food now need only to check for the Canada Organic label, a maple leaf rising above two hilltops.
In July 2007, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency unveiled the new Canada Organic logo, which can only be used on food certified as meeting Canadian standards for organic production, such as using natural fertilizers and raising animals in conditions that mimic nature.
The label ensures producers have grown the products within certain guidelines. A food product can only be stamped with the logo if 95 per cent of its ingredients are organic. The product must also have been grown using natural fertilizers, and animals must be raised in as natural an environment as possible, the federal watchdog says.
Previously, Canadian organics were accredited by an assortment of authorities, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Quebec and British Columbia were the only two provinces to regulate organic produce. But in December 2006, the federal government announced the unified regulation plan, after the European Union had threatened to ban Canadian produce.
Canada's biggest organic cash crop is wheat. Half of it is exported to Europe. Most of the rest goes to the United States, which has had government regulations on organic farming for several years. It was feared that losing the European market could have cost Canada's organic farmers half a billion dollars over the next decade.
On Sept. 2, 2006, the federal government announced its plan to regulate and certify organic foods. Instead of more than two dozen bodies overseeing voluntary standards, one body — the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) — is now trusted with the job of ensuring mandatory regulations are followed.
Under the new rules, farmers who want their produce to carry the new "Canada Organic" label have to apply in writing for certification. The application must include:
- The name of the agricultural product.
- The substances used in its production.
- The manner in which those substances are used.
- A report setting out in detail the methods of production and the control mechanisms in place to ensure that those methods comply at all times with the organic standards.
As well, product labels would have to comply with the Food and Drugs Act and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and their regulations.
It's not just fruits and vegetables that carry the current "Certified Organic" label. There's organic milk, organic cheese and organic butter. There are even organic processed foods — including cereals, pastas and corn chips.
'Natural,' 'free-range' not necessarily organic
If you thought that organic means pesticide-free, you may be surprised to find that's not true.
Pesticides are so pervasive in the air and in our environment that no crop can be declared totally free of synthetic chemicals.
If you buy poultry that's labelled as free-range, you cannot assume that it is also organic. The same holds true for the word "natural." There are currently no standards on the use of the word "natural" when labelling agricultural products.
Organics a billion-dollar industry
The organic food industry has been growing at a dizzying pace in Canada — 15 to 20 per cent per year over the past decade. It's now a billion-dollar industry that has moved from small specialty shops to the country's largest supermarket chains.
Canadian Organic Growers says there were 3,618 certified organic growers in Canada in 2005, with another 241 farmers in the process of converting their conventional farms to organic.
More than 530,000 hectares of land are dedicated to growing organic food, the largest crop being wheat.
Organic foods have grown in popularity in recent years, according to the Certified Organics Report released in May by the Nielsen Company. It found that more than half of Canadian households purchased organically grown food in 2006, saying they were primarily driven by concerns over pesticides in non-organic foods.
More on certifying organic
External Links
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Proposed organic product regulations
- CFIA: Guide to food labelling and advertising
- The U.S. National Organic Program
- Canadian Organic Growers Association
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