How can you tell if something is ‘Organic’?

The only way you can be assured that you are purchasing REAL ORGANIC products is to purchase products which have been organically certified with an accredited certifying body and the product displays their certification logo on the packaging.

In Australia, the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) audits organic industry organisations against the requirements of the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce to ensure the integrity of organic product is maintained.

In addition, the International Federation of Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) represents the worldwide movement of organic agriculture and has input into maintaining standards globally.

There are 7 accredited certifying bodies in Australia. Each bases certification of its members on the principles and certification criteria as outlined in the National Standard for Organic and Bio-dynamic Produce. They may set additional criteria depending on their priorities; however, each involves scheduled and random inspections, a traceability process (paper trail) and various statutory or government declarations.

Each certifier uses two levels of organic certification. Level A is the top level and it means that a farm has fully converted to organics – ‘Certified Organic’. Level B is the in-conversion level. This is for produce from farms that apply the same management criteria as a level A farm, but they have been doing it for less than two years. As it can take many years to obtain certification status products can be shown as ‘In Conversion’.

Organic Certifying Associations

ACO – Australian Certified Organic (Biological Farmers of Australia)

www.australianorganic.com.au

ACO, PO Box 530, Chermside, QLD 4032
Phone: + 61 7 3350 5706
Fax: + 61 7 3350 5996

NASAA – National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia

www.nasaa.com.au

NASAA, PO Box 768, Stirling, SA 5152
Phone: +61 8 8370 8455
Fax: +61 8 8370 8381

BDRI – Bio-dynamic Research Institute

BDRI, Main Rd, Powelltown, VIC 3797
Phone: +61 3 5966 7333
Fax: +61 3 5966 7433

Organic Growers Association

www.organicgrowers.org.au

P.O. Box 530 Chermside Qld 4032
Phone: 07 3350 5716
Fax: 07 3350 5996

(NB: Non-AQIS accredited, for domestic markets only. OGA is subsidiary company of Biological Farmers of Australia.)

OFC – Organic Food Chain

www.organicfoodchain.com.au

The Organic Food Chain Pty Ltd, PO Box 2390, Toowoomba, Qld 4350
Phone: + 61 7 4637 2600 
Fax: + 61 7 4696 7689

Safe Food Production

www.safefood.qld.gov.au

PO Box 440
Spring Hill, QLD, 4004
Phone: + 61 7 3253 9800

Tasmanian Organic-Dynamic Producers

TOP

PO Box 434, Mowbray Heights, Launceston, TAS 7248
Phone/Fax: +61 3 6363 5162