Canada: Organic Regulations Published
5 January 2007 Canadian Organic Regulations became official when they were published in the Canada Gazette, part II on December 21, 2006. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reviewed and considered all comments under the public comment period on the proposed regulations that concluded last month before arriving at the regulatory scheme.
Canada’s Organic Regime (COR) will build on the existing system of domestic accreditation and certification bodies. According to the CFIA, the criteria are modeled on internationally accepted guidelines, which will be used for the assessment and recognition of these organizations. The Canada Agricultural Products Act (CAPA) is the enabling legislation under which these Regulations have been developed. In addition, organic products must continue to meet the requirements set out in the Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act, the Food and Drugs Act, and all other applicable legislation.
The Organic Production Systems General Principles and Management Standards (Standard) and Organic Production Systems Permitted Substances Lists (PSL) developed by the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) will form the basis of the Regime. The COR is designed such that the Government of Canada will provide oversight of the Regime with the CFIA acting as the competent authority, and will integrate existing accreditation and certification bodies into the system, provided they meet the prescribed requirements. The CFIA will permit the use of the organic logo on products which have been certified as 95% or more organic. Shipments of imported organic products must be accompanied by an attestation issued by the recognized competent authority of the country of origin. The CFIA claims that this requirement is consistent with other regulatory provisions and is similar to the requirements of many of Canada’s major trading partners such as the US and the EU.
The CFIA expects the organic regulations to have a high degree of acceptance among consumers, producers, processors, provincial and territorial governments, and other stakeholders in the organic sector.
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