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Organic Standards and Certification |
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Third Party Certification
Organic standards have long been used to create an agreement within
organic agriculture about what an "organic" claim on a product means,
and to some extent, to inform consumers. Regional groups of organic
farmers and their supporters began developing organic standards as
early as in the 1940's. Currently there are hundreds of private
organic standards worldwide; and in addition, organic standards have
been codified in the technical regulations of more than 60
governments.
Third-party organic certification was first instituted in the 1970's by
the same regional organic farming groups that first developed organic
standards. In the early years, the farmers inspected one another on a
voluntary basis, according to quite a general set of standards.
Today third-party certification is a much more complex and formal
process. Although certification started as a voluntary activity,
the market began to demand it for sales transactions, and now it is
required by the regulations of many governments for any kind of an
"organic" claim on a product label.
The Organic Guarantee System and the IFOAM Basic Standards and Accreditation Criteria
IFOAM's Organic Guarantee System (OGS) is designed to a) facilitate the development of organic standards and third-party certification
worldwide, and to b) provide an international guarantee of these standards
and organic certification. The IFOAM Basic Standards and the Accreditation Criteria are two of the main components of the OGS. Visit the Organic Guarantee System Section on this website for further information.
Other Guarantee Systems
When organic farmers and traders are opertating in an anonymous market,
certification has been developed to show and guarantee that a product has been produced organically. Certification is the formal and documented procedure
by which a third party assures that the organic standards are
followed. Certification leads to consumers' trust in the organic
production system and the products. Certification gives organic
farming a distinct identity and credibility and makes market access
easier.
However, besides third party certification and formal standards, there are other
methods of organic quality assurance for certain situations and
markets. These can be in the form of self-declaration, or
participatory guarantee systems, which are seen by IFOAM as suitable
for local markets that are not so anonymous as the standard "trade".
Participatory Guarantee System
Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) are quality-assurance initiatives using their own written standards, often based on IFOAM’s Basic Standards.
PGS are specific to individual communities, geographic areas, politics and their markets and the methods of verification that are used vary. Credibility is ensured through the participation of all stakeholders involved in production and consumption of organic products. In the majority of cases Participatory Guarantee Systems do not only guarantee the credibility of organic produce, but are closely linked to local and alternative marketing approaches.
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