Buying Organic - Why Certification is Important

By Eric J Smith

Moving to organic products is an important step in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Organic products are a way of eliminating toxins from the body, reducing, in part, the need for body detoxification methods. It is important to know that the products you buy are truly organic and are not just labeled as such for marketing purposes.

Certification of Organic Products becomes an important part in ensuring the consumer receives ethically organic and chemical free produce and manufacturers using organic ingredients are assured they can label their products as Organic or Certified Organic.

The importance of Organic Certification should not be underestimated. Organic growers go through painstaking processes to reach a Certified Organic status and they need to ensure their efforts are not undermined or belittled by growers and manufacturers labelling products as Organic through loopholes or flaws in the system.

New laws introduced around the world prevent the labelling of a product as organic unless it has certification to prove it is in deed an organic product through its cycle of growth and not just because it contains carbon.
Certification bodies, which exist in many countries around the word, are designed to set standards relating to farming practices which can include the sale, transportation and storage of produce and farming inputs.

Certification requires a planning of the complete growing process. Accurate records beginning from the time soil was prepared, through sowing of seed and fertilising to crop rotation, pest control and harvesting methods including how the crop is to be stored.

Farmers must ensure their farms comply with production methods outlined in approved plans based on the standards set by the certifying body. In many instances, farming practices and facilities will need to be adapted to suit the change to organic practices.

Comprehensive documentation is required which shows how a farm was used historically (prior to certification) and outline the current set up of the property. Documentation will show results of testing of soil, water stored on the property or in creeks or dams.

There are quiet substantial fees involved in the Certification process. It can cost from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars depending on the complexity of the set up and overall size of the operation.
Certification bodies will undertake inspections and testing each year on the property. They will peruse any paperwork you have kept through the year and will ask you questions relating to your management of the property.

Certification is important because it ensures the end consumer that the food they buy marked as Certified Organic is in fact Organic and not just labeled as such out of a misguided or ill informed opinion of what Organic truly is.

Eric describes himself as being "Passionate about Organics". Eric is Married and has 2 Children. Eric and his wife Narelle represent Miessence Certified Organic Skin Care, Cosmetics, Home and Nutritional Products. www.buy-organic-products.com

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