Author: PEI COPC

The review of the Canadian Organic Standards will be launched soon. This review is a very important activity for the Canadian sector as the standard is referenced by the Canadian Organic Products Regulations.   More importantly, it defines the principles and accepted practices for organic production and guides the daily work of Canadian certified operators.

Because of funding cycles the whole review will have to be completed inside a two-year time frame; so time is precious and the sector has to start organizing itself. The Working Groups responsible for analyzing requests for amendments made by the sector are now being re-activated in order to launch the discussions about requests for amendments.

 

Are you interested in continuing your participation on a COS Review Working Group, or are you interested in applying to join a WG?

If yes, please contact the OFC, at info [at] organicfederation [dot] ca , 514-488-6192.

The basic Work Groups are:

• 32.310 Organic Standard: Crop WG, Livestock WG, and Processing WG
• 32.311 Permitted Substances List: PSL Crop WG, PSL Livestock WG, and PSL Processing WG

Organic related skills and expertise wanted:

• Organic farming or processing
• Materials/Chemical substances
• Veterinary medicine/nutrition and supplements
• Apiary
• Environmental
• Animal welfare

 

Participation in Working Groups is voluntary and not paid; the WG meetings are held by toll-free teleconference.

Time commitment: Up to one 2hour call every second week, depending on need.

The Chairs of the WGs will coordinate the work and agenda of the meetings and CGSB will provide secretarial assistance. Working Group Chairs selection will be finalized for each WG once funding is secured. Payment of honorarium for WG Chairs is currently depending on the approval of an OFC application for funding under an AAFC program.

You don’t have to be a member of the Technical Committee (CGSB Committee on Organic Agriculture) to participate to the WG meetings. The CGSB is responsible for re-establishing the Technical Committee and will do so once the review workplan will be finalized.

 

Do not hesitate to contact OFC if you need additional information! Your participation in the COS review is important!

 

514-488-6192

info [at] organicfederation [dot] ca

On May 4, 2013, Manitoba proclaimed the Organic Agricultural Products Act (OAPA), making Manitoba the first province to pass a provincial organic law since the federal Organic Products Regulations (OPR) were passed in June 2009. Manitoba is now the third province with a provincial law that defines and controls the use of the word “organic” within the provincial context (both British Columbia and Quebec have laws that predate the OPR) and it is the first province to pass a law that “mirrors” the federal OPR. Manitoba has adopted the federal definition of “organic”, references the same standards (CAN/CGSB-32.310 and CAN/CGSB-32.311) and will rely on the same system of federally-accredited Certification Bodies to ensure that organic operators comply with organic standards. As in the federal system, Manitoba’s approach to enforcement will be complaint-based.

 

The OAPA and its regulations will come into force on July 1, 2013 and will apply to all food products grown or processed and sold in Manitoba that make an organic claim. The OAPA mirrors the federal OPR and provides additional oversight over retailers that sell organic food. The new law will require all farmers and food processors that make organic food claims to be inspected annually by a federally accredited Certification Body. Certified operators in Manitoba will be able to use the federal organic logo on food products containing more than 95% organic ingredients. The law does not require businesses that sell organic food to be certified unless they perform additional processing in-store or in their distribution centres, but they must maintain the integrity of organic food products by developing and following standard operating procedures to segregate organic and conventional food products and maintain appropriate records to demonstrate that organic integrity is preserved throughout their chain of custody.

 

The OAPA and its regulations will close the provincial gap in the national network of laws governing use of the word “organic” in Manitoba and will provide assurance to Manitoba consumers that all food promoted as “organic” is subject to the same regulatory requirements no matter where it is produced.

(Consumer news blog) When a middle school student near Dallas, heard her parents arguing about the value of organic foods, she was inspired to create a science fair project to try to resolve the debate. Three years later, her exploration of fruit flies and organic foods has not only raised some provocative questions about the health benefits of organic eating, it has also earned the 16-year-old top honors in a national science competition, publication in a respected scientific journal and university laboratory privileges normally reserved for graduate students. The research, titled “Organically Grown Food Provides Health Benefits to Drosophila melanogaster,” tracked the effects of organic and conventional diets on the health of fruit flies. By nearly every measure, including fertility, stress resistance and longevity, flies that fed on organic bananas and potatoes fared better than those who dined on conventionally raised produce.

 

While the results can’t be directly extrapolated to human health, the research nonetheless paves the way for additional studies on the relative health benefits of organic versus conventionally grown foods. Fruit fly models are often used in research because their short life span allows scientists to evaluate a number of basic biological effects over a relatively brief period of time, and the results provide clues for better understanding disease and biological processes in humans.

 

For her original middle-school science project, the student evaluated the vitamin C content of organic produce compared with conventionally farmed foods. When she found higher concentrations of the vitamin in organic foods, she decided she wanted to take the experiment further and measure the effects of organic eating on overall health. She searched the Internet and decided a fruit fly model would be the best way to conduct her experiment. She e-mailed several professors who maintained fly laboratories asking for assistance. To her surprise, Johannes Bauer, an assistant professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, responded to her inquiry. The student worked on the project over the summer, eventually submitting the research to her local science fair competition. The project was named among just 30 finalists in the prestigious 2011 Broadcom Masters national science competition. The professor, following his lab’s policy of publishing all research regardless of outcome, urged the student, then 14, to pursue publication in a scientific journal. The professor and an S.M.U. research associate are listed as co-authors on the research.