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.
