Organic Watch !!



Help us to maintain organic standards:

 Consumers that buy organic produce to do it with confidence since they are guaranteed by the certifier that the produce sold under a certified organic label was produced, packed, transported, etc. under strict organic rules and standards.

These organic rules and standards mean for example that the products were produced without the use of any chemical fertilisers, harmful insecticides and pesticides, etc. but produced by using renewable resources out of nature and in harmony with nature's own processes. It also means that in the production of these products certain moral responsibilities were maintained towards the people doing the work on organic farms and factories. Furthermore, the promotion of the earth's environment is an important consideration with all producers of organic products.

For this reason when consumers buy food, drinks, etc. organic produce is considered to be a healtheir (and tastier) choice, which also supports the ecology of the earth as well as human dignity. Therefore they are prepared to pay a premium for exercising this choice.

Today, millions of consumers now purchase organic products regularly, and their choice is based largely on the success of the organic industry's ability to promote and guarantee the integrity of the organic label.

We intend to guard this critical confidence that consumers have about organic products with all our strength, but we need your help. When you discover a situation where you may have some concerns or doubts if a particular product or supplier is adhering to organic rules and standards we would like to hear from you. Please report any suspicious incident to us by making use of our "Organic Watch" facility on our main page or just click here.

We promise to investigate the situation and report back to you.

WARNING TO TRANSGRESORS!

If after we have investigated the situation and found some transgression have/is taking place, we will ask for the rectification of the situation and if the transgressor do not comply we will publish the information on our website to warn the public.

Organic food fraud will be uncovered sooner or later. Read below how new testing methods are used to monitor organic meat:

Organic food fraud sends shockwaves through sector !


18/05/2006- The Food Standards Agency's development of new testing methods for organic food follows allegations that some suppliers have been involved in fraud.

The new tests, developed for the agency by the government's Central Science Laboratory, were completed last year and have been checked using samples of pork and chicken bought in the High Street.
But it is only in the last few days that organic fraud has become front-page news. An ITV West Eye View investigation into apparently fraudulent or unlicensed organic meat sales has drawn responses from not only the FSA, but also organisations such as the Soil Association.
"The Soil Association welcomes the investigations undertaken by ITV West Eye View," said the association in a statement. "Over the past 60 years, we have worked to develop the principles, standards and practices of organic food and farming, which are now set down in UK, European and International law and regulations."
The importance of the issue has been heightened by the fact that this once-niche sector has experienced rapid growth, driven by public concerns over industrial farming and the cluster of 'food scares' linked to excessive use of agrochemicals, animal drugs and GM.
Any question of credibility is therefore of great concern, because consumer trust is pivotal to the long-term health of the sector. As a result, the Soil Association has been quick to initiate actions.
"The most serious apparent breach of our standards concerned a Soil Association licensee selling meat products for which he did not have the appropriate processing licence," said the association in a statement.
"On receiving confirmation of the identity of this licensee, the Soil Association undertook an immediate unannounced inspection. Our investigations are still in progress, but the licensee was immediately prohibited from selling any of the suspect product ranges as organic."
Depending on their response to this serious non-compliance, the outcome could be suspension of their licence to process and sell any produce directly to the public as organic. If their actions are seen to have brought the Soil Association's name into disrepute and/or are found to be in breach of organic regulations total termination of their licence with the organisation would follow.
For their part, the new FSA tests are designed to detect the presence and number of treatments of antibiotics in chicken bones or pork bones. This indicates one aspect of whether the chicken or pork has been reared organically or using non-organic farming methods.
The use of antibiotics is permitted in organic chicken and pork only once a year, to cure infection, whereas conventionally reared chicken and pork might show the use of antibiotics more frequently. The tests will also indicate when antibiotics have been used more systematically - and illegally - on the animals as a growth-promoting agent.
The FSA said however that most mislabelling fraud would continue to be detected by local authority enforcement officers checking a 'paper trail' to indicate if claimed organic produce has really come from an authentic source. The agency recently provided funds to assist Richmond Borough Council in pursuing legal action against two traders fraudulently selling meat and meat products as 'organic'.