Mandatory organic certification on Australian produce is one step closer

The Federal Government is convening an advisory group to look into mandatory certification for all food and products labelled as “organic”.

Australia’s organics industry has been pushing for years to make certification mandatory.

AUSTRALIA is a step closer to mandatory certification for all produce labelled as “organic”.

The Federal Government has called for an organic industry advisory group to assess whether existing domestic regulation was “fit for purpose” in enabling growth of the sector, with meetings to begin next month.

The nation’s $2.6 billion organics industry has been pushing for major reform for almost two years, and specifically for legislation forcing anyone selling “organic” produce within Australia to have certification.

Currently producers and companies do not need to be certified to market their goods as “organic”. The industry argues this is a double standard, given only certified goods can be exported, and leaves Australia lagging behind every other developed nation with mandatory domestic certification rules.

Peak industry body Australian Organic’s chief executive Niki Ford said the industry’s biggest competitors domestically were fake organic products.

“With no mandatory standard currently in place, industry is being compromised given the lack of consistency for producers. This also leaves exporters in a frustrating and expensive position where they must pay separate fees to meet specific regulations in each individual customer country,” Ms Ford said.

“Our organic producers are world leaders in terms of quality and innovative production systems, and this change stands to not only simplify processes, reduce red tape and strengthen market access but to also provide consumers with greater confidence when choosing to buy organically-labelled products.”

The group’s members will represent a cross-section of the organics supply chain, from producers to manufactures, certifiers, importers and exporters.

Australia’s current framework allows products to be certified as organic by any of the six private certifiers that ensure they comply with the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce for export purposes, but there is no enforceable standard for goods sold in Australia.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said it was timely to look at ways of cutting red tape given Australia’s organics industry was projected to grow at an annualised rate of 15 per cent over the next five years.

“Improving the regulatory framework should be focused on growing our organic industry, improving market access with other countries, especially our major trading partners, and reducing the need for multiple accreditations from different countries – reducing regulatory burden and saving money.”

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