Since Organic Production is nowadays defined by Standards
and Regulations organic produce has to be certified for marketing. As long as a direct consumer- producer relationship creates enough trust in organic products, there is no need for regulations and certification schemes. While organic production goes beyond direct markets or “niche markets”, and is entering mainstream markets, especially in case of international trade, effective and independent certification schemes have to come into place to guarantee for the organic origin and to create consumer’s trust in organic produce.
Where previously only private Associations and their labels have been defining what is ORGANIC and what is not (Guidelines of Growers Associations), the status of ORGANIC becomes increasingly defined through legally binding regulations and law in more and more countries. Especially in countries with widely developed organic markets, the large number of labels and different standards became colr1fusing to customers and couldn’t contribute to market transparency and the establishment of trust among consumers in organic produce anymore. Therefore, in such countries, the technical standards are nowadays represented by statutory law (for example the European Regulation on Organic Agriculture (EEC) NO. 2092/91), the NOP/USDA Standards for the United States or the JAS/MAFF Standards in Japan.
Even if these national standards may differ in some details, the general aspects are pretty much the same and are in accordance with the international definitions of organic agriculture, created with the participation of producers and stake- holders in the organic movement from all over the world – much facilitated through the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM).
Control became indispensable for the protection of the reliable producer, the consequent vendor and the trusting buyer. In the same time, control must not slow down the development on the organic market. Confidence, however, is best inspired and solidified by transparency, which is guaranteed by the fulfillment of legally binding standards and their control through competent, independent and accredited certification schemes.
