UgoCert in Uganda is among the first 30 certification bodies approved to work in equivalence with the EU Organic Regulation (see related article in this issue). UgoCert’s application to the Commission was made two years ago with the scope of…
The federal office for Agriculture and Food in Germany (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung–BLE) has launched a database that aims to allow users to search and compare different organic standards and regulations. The first three standards entered on the database…
At its meeting on 25-26 October, the EU Standing Committee on Organic Farming (SCOF) voted to accept the procedures and a list of approved certification bodies (CBs). The list includes thirty CBs that have standards and certification deemed equivalent with…
At its December meeting the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) passed several recommendations to amend the National Organic Program regulation, 7 CFR 205 to add animal welfare requirements in livestock production. The requirements would be subject to the US rule…
The Canadian Government and European Commission have exchanged letters acknowledging that their organic regulations are considered equivalent. Unlike the Canada-US agreements, there are no additional requirements on either side. Organic products certified according to the regulations of one country and…
Chinese organic agriculture began in the late 1980s, driven initially by environmental concerns and later by export opportunities. The latest estimate, from 2009, was that there is 2 million hectares of certified organic farmland, while total organic production was valued…
The Organic Producers and Processors Association of Zambia (OPPAZ) has said Zambia has a potential to earn more than US $1.3 billion per annum under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through exports of organic produce. OPPAZ chief executive…
Participatory Guarantee Systems are locally focused quality assurance systems. They certify producers based on active participation of stakeholders and are built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge exchange (IFOAM, 2008). Belize is now part of this group…
IFOAM is just starting to develop and promote recommendations for governments on how they can use the IFOAM Family of Standards as a basis to facilitate recognition of equivalent standards in their approach to regulate imports of organic products. Australia…
Brazil has a significant domestic demand for organic products which has grown in the span of more than 40 years since the beginning of the Brazilian organic movement. In December 2003, the Brazilian government sanctioned Law 10.0831 which authorized the…
The AROS Drafting Group meets in Vientiane, Laos on 28 -29 June The Asia Regional Organic Standard (AROS) is…
The Canadian Government and European Commission have exchanged letters acknowledging that their organic regulations are considered equivalent. Unlike the Canada-US…
