Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on
the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, pursuant to
section 32a of the Canada Agricultural
Products Actb, hereby makes the annexed Organic Products
Regulations.
INTERPRETATION
1. The following definitions apply in these
Regulations. |
| | "accreditation body" means a body that has
entered into an agreement with the Agency under subsection 14(1) of the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act to administer certain tasks, including
assessing, recommending and monitoring the accreditation of certification
bodies.(organisme d'accréditation)
"Act" means the Canada Agricultural Products Act. (Loi)
"Agency" means the Canadian Food Inspection Agency established by section 3
of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act. (Agence)
"certification body" means a body that is accredited as a certification
body in accordance with section 5. (agent de certification)
"organic product" means an agricultural product that has been certified as
organic in accordance with these Regulations. (produit biologique) |
PART 1
ORGANIC PRODUCTS
2. (1) Only organic products as defined in section 1 may use the
logo set out in the schedule or the designations "Canada Organic" and "Biologique Canada". |
| | (2) Only organic products as defined in
section 1 shall be marketed in interprovincial or international trade. |
3. The logo set out in the schedule and the
designations "Canada Organic" and "Biologique Canada" are agricultural product
legends.PART 2
CERTIFICATION BODIES
Application for Accreditation
4. Any person who wishes to be accredited as a certification body
shall apply for the accreditation in writing to an accreditation body and
shall undergo an evaluation approved by the Agency that tests their knowledge
of the principles and practices respecting organic certification.
Accreditation
5. On the recommendation of an accreditation body, the Agency shall
accredit the applicant as a certification body and provide the applicant with
an accreditation number.
6. If the accreditation body refuses to recommend the accreditation
of the applicant, the accreditation body shall send a notice to the applicant,
by registered mail, stating the reasons for the decision and advising the
applicant of their right to request that the Agency review the decision. The
accreditation body shall also send a copy of the notice, including the
reasons, to the Agency.
Suspension and Cancellation
7. (1) Subject to subsection (2), on the recommendation of the
accreditation body or on the Agency's own decision, the Agency shall suspend
the accreditation of a certification body if the certification body fails to
comply with any provision of the Act or these Regulations. |
| | (2) No accreditation may be suspended unless
the Agency has |
| | | (a) notified the certification body
that there are grounds for suspension; (b) provided the certification
body with a copy of a report that specifies the grounds for suspension, the
required corrective measures and the period within which those measures must
be implemented to avoid suspension; and
(c) sent a notice of suspension to the certification body. |
| | (3) The suspension of an accreditation
remains in effect until the required corrective measures have been implemented
and verified. (4) On the recommendation of the accreditation body or on the
Agency's own decision, the Agency shall cancel the accreditation if |
| | | (a) the certification body has not
implemented the required corrective measures within the specified period or
within a longer period provided under subsection (5); or (b) the
application made under section 4 contains false or misleading information. |
| | (5) If the certification body has not
implemented the required corrective measures or their implementation is not
possible within the specified period, the certification body may obtain from
the Agency a longer period to implement those measures. (6) No accreditation
may be cancelled unless the Agency has |
| | | (a) advised the certification body
of an opportunity for it to be heard in respect of the cancellation and the
certification body was given that opportunity either orally or in writing; and
(b) sent a notice of the cancellation to the certification body. |
PART 3
ORGANIC CERTIFICATION
Application for Organic Certification
8. (1) Every person who wishes to have an agricultural product
certified as an organic product shall apply for that certification in writing
to a certification body. |
| | (2) The application shall contain: |
| | | (a) the name of the agricultural
product in respect of which the organic certification is being applied for;
(b) in the case of an agricultural product containing more than one
agricultural product, a statement setting out the percentage of each of them
that are organic products;
(c) a statement setting out the substances used in the production of
the agricultural product and the manner in which those substances are used;
and
(d) a report setting out in detail the methods of production used in
the production of the agricultural product and the control mechanisms in place
to ensure that those methods comply at all times with the standards set out in
the most recent edition of CAN/CGSB-32.310, the Organic Production Systems
—— General Principles and Management Standards. |
International Marketing
9. (1) A person who wishes to market an organic product in export
trade shall obtain from a certification body a certificate attesting that the
product is an organic product. |
| | (2) The application shall be in writing and
shall include evidence that the product has been certified as an organic
product. (3) The certification body shall issue the certificate if it
obtains evidence that the product in respect of which the application was made
is an organic product. |
10. A person in import trade who wishes to market a
product identified as organic shall obtain an attestation issued by the
competent authority of the country of origin, attesting that the product is
considered to be organic in that country.Procedure for
Organic Certification and Certificate
11. (1) A certification body shall certify an agricultural product
as an organic product if it determines, after evaluation, that |
| | | (a) in the case of an agricultural
product containing more than one agricultural product, at least 70% of those
products are organic products; (b) the substances used in its
production of the agricultural product are those set out and used in the
manner described, in the most recent edition of CAN/CGSB-32.311, Organic
Production Systems —— Permitted Substances List; and
(c) the methods of production used and the control mechanisms in
place comply with the requirements set out in the most recent edition of
CAN/CGSB-32.310, Organic Production Systems, General Principles and
Management Standards and with the general principles respecting organic
production provided for in those standards. |
| | (2) The organic certification remains in
effect for a period of one year from the day on which it is granted. |
Required Importation Documents
12. Every imported product identified as organic shall be
accompanied at the time of importation into Canada by the attestation required
under section 10.
Suspension and Cancellation
13. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the certification body or the
Agency shall suspend the organic certification under section 11 if |
| | | (a) the holder of the organic
certification has not complied with any provision of the Act or these
Regulations;
(b) in the case of an agricultural product containing more than one
agricultural product, less than 70% of the agricultural products are organic
products;
(c) the substances used by the holder in the production of the
agricultural product are not those set out, and used in the manner described,
in the most recent edition of CAN/CGSB-32.311, Organic Production Systems
—— Permitted Substances List ; and
(d) the methods used by the holder in the production of the
agricultural product do not comply with the requirements set out in the most
recent edition of CAN/CGSB-32.310, Organic Production Systems —— General
Principles and Management Standards and with the general principles
respecting organic production provided for in those standards. |
| | (2) No organic certification may be suspended
unless the certification body or the Agency, as the case may be, has |
| | | (a) notified the holder that there
are grounds for suspension; (b) provided the holder with a copy of a
report that specifies the grounds for suspension, the required corrective
measures and the period within which those measures must be implemented to
avoid suspension; and
(c) sent a notice of suspension to the holder and, in the case of
the certification body, sent a copy of it to the Agency. |
| | (3) A suspension of the organic certification
remains in effect until the required corrective measures are implemented and
verified. (4) The certification body or the Agency shall cancel the
certification if |
| | | (a) the holder has not implemented
the required corrective measures within the specified period or within a
longer period allowed under subsection (5); or (b) the application
made under section 8 contains false or misleading information. |
| | (5) If the holder has not implemented the
required corrective measures or their implementation is not possible within
the specified period, the certification body may obtain from the Agency a
longer period to implement those measures. (6) No certification may be
cancelled unless the certification body or the Agency, as the case may be, has |
| | | (a) advised the holder of an
opportunity for them to be heard in respect of the cancellation, and the
holder was given that opportunity either orally or in writing; and (b)
sent a notice of the cancellation to the holder and, in the case of the
certification body, sent a copy of it to the Agency. |
PART 4
LABELLING
General Requirements
14. In addition to the requirements under this Part, every organic
product shall meet the labelling requirements of the Food and Drugs Act
and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and their regulations.
Specific Requirements
15. The label of an organic product shall contain: |
| | | (a) the name and the accreditation
number of the certification body that has certified as an organic product; and
(b) in the case of an agricultural product containing more than one
agricultural product, the percentage of each of them that are organic
products. |
COMING INTO FORCE
16. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are
registered. |
The logo may be either in black and white, as illustrated, or in colour:
on a white background, the outer border in green (Pantone no. 368), the
inner border in red (Pantone no. 186) the maple leaf in red (Pantone no.
186), and the lettering in white on a green background (Pantone no. 368).
