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Organic Products Regulations - they are official!

The final Canada Organic Products Regulations (OPR) were implemented on June 30, 2009. They also include the new Canada

Organic logo. The regulations require mandatory certification to the revised National Organic Standard for agricultural products represented as organic in international and inter-provincial trade, or that bear the federal organic agricultural product legend (or federal logo).

The Organic Products Regulations are part of the Canada Agricultural Products Act http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-0.4

The Organic Products Regulations can be found at:
http://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2009/2009-06-24/html/sor-dors176-eng.html

The National Organic Standards are available at (total cost is $60+GST)
http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/cgsb/on_the_net/organic/index-e.html

The CFIA Canada Organic Office (COO) website has been updated to include information on the Regulations and the Equivalency Agreement as well as other essential details:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/orgbio/orgbioe.shtml

Includes

• List of Conformity Verification Bodies (CVB)
• List of Accredited Certification Bodies (CB)
• Canada/US Equivalency Determination or Import/Export Agreements
• Canada Organic Regime: Draft Stream of Commerce and Enforcement Policy
• Canada Organic Regime: A Certified Choice
• Questions and Answers - Organic Products Regulations 2009 (these will be updated regularly)

Most if not all of the producers will work with their existing certification bodies much as before. The CFIA list of accredited CBs is linked in above. All CBs are now assessed and monitored for accreditation by the Conformity Verification Body who recommends to the Canada Organic Office who should be accredited by the CFIA. There are 5 CVBs and since some of them work in other countries the list of accredited CBs is now quite long and includes organic certification bodies from around the world. Most if not all of the certification bodies that are currently certifying organic operations in Ontario are now accredited to the new regulations.

US Canada Equivalency Agreement

The United States and Canada reached an agreement in June 2009 to allow foods certified organic to be sold in both countries. The agreement takes effect immediately.

The equivalency does have some exceptions:

• For products going to the US from Canada note that agricultural products derived from animals treated with antibiotics shall not be marketed as organic in the United States (this affects dairy mostly).
• For products coming into Canada from the US there are three exceptions
  • Agricultural products produced with the use of sodium nitrate shall not be sold or marketed as organic in Canada
  • Agricultural products produced hydroponic or aeroponic production methods shall not be sold or marketed as organic in Canada
  • Agricultural products derived from animals must be produced according to livestock stocking rates as set out in CAN.CGSB-32-310-2006 (Amended October 2008)

Under the agreement all organic foods being exported from Canada to the US must be certified to the Canadian Organic Products Regulations.

Canada is the largest export market for U.S. organic products and USDA estimates that more than 75 percent of Canada's organic consumption comes from the United States. Estimates of the total market for organic products in Canada range from $2.1 billion to $2.6 billion per year.

Frequently Asked Questions on Canada/US Equivalency on the CFIA -COO website:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/orgbio/orgbioimporte.shtml

Information on Canada/US Equivalency on the USDA - NOP website

Information on Canada/US Equivalency on the Organic Trade Association website http://www.ota.com/equivalency.html