Organic accreditation first of its kind

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Published: January 3, 2002

Canada’s national organic accreditation body has given out its first

seal of approval.

OCPP/Pro-Cert Canada Inc. has been granted ISO Guide 65 compliant

status by the Standards Council of Canada, a federal crown corporation

that oversees organic accreditation in this county.

The endorsement is the first of its kind and it signifies a new era for

Canada’s organic industry, which has been waging a war over the

accreditation issue for years.

“We are elated,” said Wally Hamm, director of Pro-Cert. “It took us 15

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months to get (the accreditation) and it’s critical to our survival.”

Peter Clark, executive director for the Standards Council of Canada,

said accreditation is a major investment for a certification body and

demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards.

“(It) is important given the increasing global consumer demand for

standardized organic food products whose production avoids the use of

synthetic pesticides, irradiation and genetic engineering.”

According to the federal government, there are about 46 organic

certifiers operating in the country. Many have been accredited by

various foreign organizations, but until now none has attained national

accreditation.

For years, the organic industry has been wrestling with how to enforce

Canada’s voluntary standards.

Some were pushing for the Canadian Organic Advisory Board to be an

accreditation agency. Others wanted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency

to take on the job.

This first accreditation by the Standards Council of Canada seems to

have resolved the dispute for now.

“It’s a major step forward to have any organization go through that

process. Then we know that it’s working, it’s functioning,” said Ian

Cushon, an organic farmer from Oxbow, Sask.

Although he is pleased to see progress on the accreditation issue,

Cushon is leery about how the Canadian standard is viewed by other

countries.

“I’m not sure if a voluntary standard is acceptable to the Europeans,”

he said.

Hamm is lobbying the federal government to seek equivalency agreements

between Canada and its major trading partners now that Canada has a

national standard and an accreditation body.

“We’ve got the ticket and now we’re trying to get some value out of

it,” he said.

The United States is Canada’s largest organic export destination,

followed by the EU and Japan.

Canada sells about $1 billion of organic products a year. The industry

generated $600 million for farmers in 2000, which represents about 1.5

percent of total farm cash receipts that year.

The federal government expects retail sales to total $3.1 billion by

2005 based on an average annual growth rate of 20 percent.

Hamm said once equivalency agreements are worked out between Canada and

its trading partners, OCPP/ Pro-Cert producers, processors and traders

will have unfettered access to European, American and Asian markets.

The accreditation process cost OCPP/Pro-Cert an estimated $43,000. Half

of that will be reimbursed by the federal government.

Earlier this year, federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief announced

$600,000 in funding for organic agriculture. The majority of that was

for an organic accreditation assistance program.

The program reimburses certifying bodies 50 percent of the cost of

applying to the Standards Council of Canada, up to a maximum of

$25,000.

To be eligible for assistance, certifiers must be successfully

accredited by Dec. 31, 2003.

About the author

Sean Pratt

Sean Pratt

Reporter/Analyst

Sean Pratt has been working at The Western Producer since 1993 after graduating from the University of Regina’s School of Journalism. Sean also has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan and worked in a bank for a few years before switching careers. Sean primarily writes markets and policy stories about the grain industry and has attended more than 100 conferences over the past three decades. He has received awards from the Canadian Farm Writers Federation, North American Agricultural Journalists and the American Agricultural Editors Association.

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