Courtesy: Organic certification for pizza
Organic food production is distinct from private gardening. In the EU, organic farming and organic food are more commonly known as ecological or biological, or in short ‘eco’ and ‘bio’.
Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan, and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification based on government-defined standards to market food as organic within their borders. In the context of these regulations, foods marketed as organic are produced in a way that complies with organic standards set by national governments and international organic industry trade organizations.
The National Organic Program (run by the USDA) is in charge of the legal definition of organic in the United States and does organic certification.
In the United States, organic production is managed in accordance with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA) and regulations in Title 7, Part 205 of the Code of Federal Regulations to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. If livestock are involved, the livestock must be reared with regular access to pasture and without the routine use of antibiotics or growth hormones.
Processed organic food usually contains only organic ingredients. If non-organic ingredients are present, at least a certain percentage of the food’s total plant and animal ingredients must be organic (95% in the United States, Canada, and Australia). Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions, such as chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically modified ingredients. Pesticides are allowed as long as they are not synthetic. However, under US federal organic standards, if pests and weeds are not controllable through management practices, nor via organic pesticides and herbicides, “a substance included on the National List of synthetic substances allowed for use in organic crop production may be applied to prevent, suppress, or control pests, weeds, or diseases”. Several groups have called for organic standards to prohibit nanotechnology on the basis of the precautionary principle in light of unknown risks of nanotechnology.: 5–6 The use of nanotechnology-based products in the production of organic food is prohibited in some jurisdictions (Canada, the UK, and Australia) and is unregulated in others.
To be certified organic, products must be grown and manufactured in a manner that adheres to standards set by the country they are sold in:
- Australia: NASAA Organic Standard
- Canada:
- European Union: EU-Eco-regulation
- Sweden: KRAV
- United Kingdom: DEFRA
- Poland: Association of Polish Ecology
- Norway: Debio Organic certification
- India: National Program for Organic Production (NPOP)
- Indonesia: BIOCert, run by Agricultural Ministry of Indonesia.
- Japan: JAS Standards
- Mexico: Consejo Nacional de Producción Orgánica, department of Sagarpa
- New Zealand: there are three bodies; BioGro, AsureQuality, and OFNZ
- United States: National Organic Program (NOP) Standards
In the United States, there are four different levels or categories for organic labeling:
- “100% Organic”: This means that all ingredients are produced organically. It also may have the USDA seal.
- “Organic”: At least 95% or more of the ingredients are organic.
- “Made With Organic Ingredients”: Contains at least 70% organic ingredients.
- “Less Than 70% Organic Ingredients”: Three of the organic ingredients must be listed under the ingredient section of the label.
In the U.S., the food label “natural” or “all natural” does not mean that the food was produced and processed organically