Organic certification

Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food processors, retailers and restaurants. A lesser known counterpart is certification for organic textiles (or Organic clothing) that includes certification of textile products made from organically grown fibres.

Requirements vary from country to country (List of countries with organic agriculture regulation), and generally involve a set of production standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping that include:

• avoidance of synthetic chemical inputs (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives), irradiation, and the use of sewage sludge;
• avoidance of genetically modified seed;
• use of farmland that has been free from prohibited chemical inputs for a number of years (often, three or more);
• for livestock, adhering to specific requirements for feed, housing, and breeding;
• keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail);
• maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products;
• undergoing periodic on-site inspections.

In some countries, certification is overseen by the government, and commercial use of the term organic is legally restricted. Certified organic producers are also subject to the same agricultural, food safety and other government regulations that apply to non-certified producers.

Certified organic foods are not necessarily pesticide-free, as certain pesticides are allowed.

Purpose
Organic certification addresses a growing worldwide demand for organic food. It is intended to assure quality and prevent fraud, and to promote commerce. While such certification was not necessary in the early days of the organic movement, when small farmers would sell their produce directly at farmers' markets, as organics have grown in popularity, more and more consumers are purchasing organic food through traditional channels, such as supermarkets. As such, consumers must rely on third-party regulatory certification.

For organic producers, certification identifies suppliers of products approved for use in certified operations. For consumers, "certified organic" serves as a product assurance, similar to "low fat", "100% whole wheat", or "no artificial preservatives".

Certification is essentially aimed at regulating and facilitating the sale of organic products to consumers. Individual certification bodies have their own service marks, which can act as branding to consumers—a certifier may promote the high consumer recognition value of its logo as a marketing advantage to producers.

Regional variations
Europe
Public organic certification
EU countries acquired comprehensive organic legislation with the implementation of the EU-Eco-regulation 1992. Supervision of certification bodies is handled on the national level. In March 2002 the European Commission issued a EU-wide label for organic food. It has been mandatory throughout the EU since July 2010. and has become compulsory after a two-year transition period.

In 2009 a new logo was chosen through a design competition and online public vote. The new logo is a green rectangle that shows twelve stars (from the European flag) placed such that they form the shape of a leaf in the wind. Unlike earlier labels no words are presented on the label lifting the requirement for translations referring to organic food certification.

The new EU organic label has been implemented since July 2010 and has replaced the old European Organic label. However, producers that have had already printed and ready to use packaging with the old label were allowed to use them in the upcoming 2 years.

The development of the EU organic label was develop based on Denmark's organic food policy and the rules behind the Danish organic food label which at the moment holds the highest rate of recognition among its users in the world respectively 98% and 90% trust the label. The current EU organic label is meant to signal to the consumer that at least 95% of the ingredients used in the processed organic food is from organic origin and 5% considered an acceptable error margin.

Private organic certification
Besides the public organic certification regulation EU-Eco-regulation in 1992, there are various private organic certifications available:

• Demeter International is the largest certification organization for biodynamic agriculture, and is one of three predominant organic certifiers. Demeter Biodynamic Certification is used in over 50 countries to verify that biodynamic products meet international standards in production and processing. The Demeter certification program was established in 1928, and as such was the first ecological label for organically produced foods.
• Bio Suisse established in 1981 is the Swiss organic farmer umbrella organization. International activities are mainly focused on imports towards Switzerland and don't support export activities.
• Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is a private standard for Organic clothing for the entire post-harvest processing (including spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing and manufacturing) of apparel and home textiles made with organic fibres (such as organic cotton, organic wool etc.). It includes both environmental and social criteria. Established in 2002, the standard is used in over 68 countries  and is endorsed by USDA  and IFOAM. The material must be at least 95% organic, as certified by “recognized international or national standards.” If the material is 70% organic, it can be labeled as “made with organic.” 

en.wikipedia.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_certification