Food > Organic Production System Task Force 

PROPOSED ORGANIC PRODUCTS REGULATIONS AIM TO PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM FALSE ORGANIC CLAIMS

Ottawa, September 7, 2006 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is proposing regulations to govern the use of a federal organic logo and include certification requirements for organic agricultural products.

The proposed Organic Products Regulations were published for public comment on September 2, 2006 in Canada Gazette, Part 1. A 75-day comment period ending on November 16, 2006 will give the public and stakeholders the opportunity to review the proposed regulations and to provide the CFIA with written comments.

The regulations aim to protect consumers against deceptive and misleading labelling practices and set out requirements for organic products in inter-provincial and international trade. The “Canada Organic” logo, if adopted, would be permitted for use only on those food products certified as meeting the newly revised Canadian standard for organic production.

The anticipated federal regulatory program for organic products will build upon existing standards and certification systems and will contribute to the organic industry’s capacity to respond to international and domestic market opportunities.

A comprehensive national consultation process was undertaken with stakeholders and provincial and territorial partners from 2003 through 2005. The proposed Organic Products Regulations capture the key concepts for the federal regulatory program that attained wide-scale stakeholder agreement leading to publication of the proposed regulations for public comment.

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The proposed regulations may be obtained on the CFIA’s Website at www.inspection.gc.ca or the Canada Gazette Website at www.canadagazette.gc.ca.

Comments on the proposed regulations must be provided in writing to:
Dr. Bashir Manji
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
59 Camelot Drive
Ottawa, ON
CANADA
K1Y 0Y9

The revised Canadian organic standards, Organic Production Systems – General Principles and Management Standards and the Permitted Substances Lists are available through the Canadian General Standards Board: http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/cgsb/on_the_net/organic/index-e.html

CFIA Media Relations:
Ottawa (613) 228-6682