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INTRODUCTION Certified organic products are those which have been produced, stored, processed, handled and marketed in accordance with precise technical specifications (standards) and certified as "organic" by a certification body. Once conformity with organic standards has been verified by a certification body, the product is afforded a label. This label will differ depending on the certification body but can be taken as an assurance that the essential elements constituting an "organic" product have been met from the farm to the market. It is important to note that an organic label applies to the production process, ensuring that the product has been produced, processed and handled in an ecologically sound manner. The organic label is therefore a production process claim as opposed to a product quality claim. |
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THE LABEL An organic label indicates
that a product has been certified against specific organic standards.
The label carries the name of the certification body and the standards
with which it complies. To the informed consumer, this label can
function as a guide. Certification bodies evaluate operations according
to different organic standards and can be formally recognized by
more than one authoritative body. The label of a given certification
body, therefore, informs the consumer on the type of standards complied
with during production and processing as well as on the type of
recognition granted to the certification body. Many certification
bodies operate worldwide, most of which are private and originate
in developed countries. |
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Organic agriculture is becoming of growing importance in the agriculture sector of a number of countries, irrespective of their stage of development.
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OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS |
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The demand for organic products has created new export opportunities for the developing world.
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