|
 On June 30, 2009, the Organic
Products Regulations (OPR) came into effect in Canada,
making the new Canadian Organic Standards (COS) mandatory.
The OPR legally requires organic products to be certified
according to the COS if they are traded across provincial
or international borders or use the Canada Organic Logo. Complete
details about the Organic Regime can be found on CFIA's Organic Product web site; but for products that fall outside the scope of the OPR, contact a certifier for further details. |
Canada
Organic Standards
Organic
Production Systems General Principles and Management Standards
(CAN/CGSB 32.310)
Organic
Production Systems Permitted Substances Lists (CAN/CGSB 32.311)
For more information read Links
to Canada Organic Standard Documents.
Standards
Interpretation Committee Decisions
The Canadian Organic Office (COO), collaborating
with representatives of the organic sector, has created an advisory
body; the Standards Interpretation Committee (SIC), to assist in
the interpretation of the Canadian Organic Standard (CAN/CGSB 32.310
and CAN/CGSB 32.311).
• Information
about the committee and how it functions
• Questions
and Answers Regarding the National Standards for Organic Agriculture
• Questions
and Answers - Organic Certification of Slaughtering Activities
• There is a 60-day comment period for newly-proposed SIC Questions
and Answers. To receive the drafts, sign up for the CanReg Listserve
a cross country information sharing service. Click
here to subscribe and here
to remove yourself from the CanReg Listserve.
Canadian
Certification Bodies
Canada Organic Office's List of ISO Accredited Certification Bodies
(CFIA)
COABC
Accredited Certification Agencies including both ISO and Regional
Bodies (COABC). The British
Columbia Certified Organic Program is a voluntary agri-food
quality program administered by the Certified Organic Associations
of BC (COABC) and is open to any resident or business operating
in the province that undertakes to comply with program requirements.
Certification
Overview
What
is Organic Farming? (COABC)
What
is Organic Farming (ATTRA/pdf 954kb)
Global
Organic Agriculture: Continued Growth
The
motives, benefits and pitfalls of organic conversion (2009 Ontario
Agricultural College)
How to
Become Certified
A good place to start is with a quick overview
of the steps
to certification prepared by the COABC but, for an in-depth
exploraation, check out the Canadian Organic Grower's (COG) Understanding
the New Organic Regime: Workshop Videos, or, go to COG's written
information designed specifically for your sector: Farmers,
Processors,
and Importers
/ Exporters.
Also read COABC's
answers to some FAQs and Organic
Dairy Farming in Canada FAQs. There is also Transition
to Organic Farming by OMAFRA, Organic
fruit and vegetable production: Is it for you? (Vista 2002 -
CAN/pdf) and COG's Transitioning
to Certified Organic Farming. The Rodale Institute has an online
course you can sign up for, ACORN has a detailed Organic
Path you can follow. You may want to order this Introduction
to Certified Organic Farming DVD or purchase the following COG
manual Gaining
Ground: Making a Successful Transition to Organic Farming.
Case Studies (farmers speaking about their experience
moving to organic practices)
Virtual Farm Tours (OACC)
Profiles.
What is Sustainable Agriculture? (SARE)
Tools
to Help with Certification Documentation
Check out Rowena Hopkins and Roxanne Beavers's
2008 Record
keeping for Streamlined Certification and Farmer Sanity, also
check out Tracy Lundberg-Schimpf's 2004 A
Tracking System for Organic Farmers. ATTRA has record keeping
forms for field crops, hort crops (orchard, vineyard, berry) and
livestock. All of these can be found under the Organic
Marketing and Labeling heading.
Directory
of Inputs
For a great overview of the current situation
in Canada regarding brand name inputs read COABC's Brand
Names List Information
Becoming
an Organic Inspector / Verification Officers
Who
are Organic Inspectors and what do they do? (IOIA)
IOIA Online
Searchable Inspector Directory (IOIA)
Upcoming
IOIA Organic Inspector Trainings (IOIA)
Organic
Inspector Certificate (Assiniboine College)
Confused?
Not sure how to tell what is organic or not?
If yes read this American based review Small
Organic Farms & Local Markets - How to Assess Organic Compliance:
A Tool for Market Growers, Market Managers, Produce Buyers, Extension
Agents, and Others for some excellent insights. Not completely
pertinent to Canada (there is no small farm exemption in the Canadian
Organic Product Regulation), but the OPR only impacts on goods that
cross provinical borders, and in provinces where the OPR has been
adopted into provincial law.
For more information, contact your local certifying body or email Susan L. Smith at the BC Ministry of Agriculture.
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WHERE DOES TEFLON® GO WHEN IT DIES? By
Robin Wheeler
Have you ever asked yourself that question?
We've all seen the scratched Teflon pans at garage sales, but few
of us have stopped to ponder where exactly all those little scrapings
of non-stick coating have gone. But it's a question that has been
put to the people at Cyber-Help, who had to do some research to
answer this question. After all, organic food processors could be
using Teflon pots to create value-added products. Buyers of Certified
Organic products want to be assured they are getting the cleanest
possible foods. So our question is, "Are there Teflon residues
remaining in the foods cooked in Teflon, and if so, is that a bad
thing?"
To read the complete article click
here
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Elsewhere on this site
Compost
Pertinent Federal (Canadian) & Provincial (BC) Regulations
Organic Dairy Farming in Canada
Farm Equipment
Marketing Your Product
Organic Prices (fruit and vegetables)
Small Scale Food Processing
Pest Management
Soil (Canada, USA) and Water (BC, Alberta) Testing Labs & Services
Original material in this website may be reproduced in any form without permission on condition that it is accredited to Cyber-Help for Organic Farmers, with a link back to this site or, in the case of printed material, a clear indication of the site URL. We would appreciate being notified of such use. Although care has been taken in preparing the information contained in this web site, Cyber-Help for Organic Farmers does not and cannot guarantee the accuracy thereof. Anyone using the information does so at their own risk and shall be deemed to indemnify Cyber-Help for Organic Farmers, from any and all injury or damage arising from such use.
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