Interpretation

1 The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

accreditation body

accreditation body means a body that has entered into an agreement with the Agency under subsection 14(1) of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act to administer certain tasks, including assessing, recommending and monitoring the accreditation of certification bodies. (organisme d’accréditation)

Act

Act means the Canada Agricultural Products Act. (Loi)

Agency

Agency means the Canadian Food Inspection Agency established by section 3 of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act. (Agence)

certification body

certification body means a body that is accredited as a certification body in accordance with section 5. (organisme de certification)

multi-ingredient product

multi-ingredient product means a type of agricultural product composed of two or more agricultural products. (produit multiingrédients)

organic product

organic product means an agricultural product that has been certified as organic in accordance with these Regulations or in respect of which an attestation referred to in section 10 has been obtained. (produit biologique)

Organic Products

• 2 (1) Only multi-ingredient products the contents of which are at least 95% organic products, and organic products other than multi-ingredient products, may bear the logo set out in the schedule or the designations “Canada Organic” and “Biologique Canada”.

• (2) Only organic products as defined in these Regulations may be marketed in interprovincial or international trade.

3 The logo set out in the schedule and the designations “Canada Organic” and “Biologique Canada” are agricultural product legends.

Certification Bodies

Application for Accreditation

4 A person who wishes to be accredited as a certification body shall apply for the accreditation in writing to an accreditation body and shall undergo an evaluation approved by the Agency that tests their knowledge of the principles and practices respecting organic certification.

Accreditation

5 On the recommendation of an accreditation body, the Agency shall accredit the applicant as a certification body and provide the applicant with an accreditation number.

6 If the accreditation body refuses to recommend the accreditation of the applicant, the accreditation body shall send a notice to the applicant, by registered mail, stating the reasons for the decision and advising the applicant of their right to request that the Agency review the decision. The accreditation body shall also send a copy of the notice, including the reasons, to the Agency.

Suspension and Cancellation

• 7 (1) Subject to subsection (2), on the recommendation of the accreditation body or on the Agency’s own decision, the Agency shall suspend the accreditation of a certification body if the certification body has not complied with any provision of the Act or these Regulations.

• (2) No accreditation may be suspended unless the Agency has

  • (a) notified the certification body that there are grounds for suspension;

  • (b) provided the certification body with a copy of a report that specifies the grounds for suspension, the required corrective measures and the period within which those measures must be implemented to avoid suspension; and

  • (c) sent a notice of the suspension to the certification body.

• (3) The suspension remains in effect until the required corrective measures have been implemented and verified.

• (4) On the recommendation of the accreditation body or on the Agency’s own decision, the Agency shall cancel the accreditation if

  • (a) the certification body has not implemented the required corrective measures within the specified period or within a longer period allowed under subsection (5); or

  • (b) the application made under section 4 contains false or misleading information.

• (5) If the certification body has not implemented the required corrective measures, or their implementation is not possible, within the specified period, the certification body may obtain from the Agency a longer period within which to implement those measures.

• (6) No accreditation may be cancelled unless the Agency has

  • (a) given the certification body an opportunity to be heard in respect of the cancellation, either orally or in writing; and

  • (b) sent a notice of the cancellation to the certification body.

Organic Certification

Application Organic Certification

• 8 (1) A person who wishes to have an agricultural product certified as an organic product shall apply in writing to a certification body for a certicate confirming that the product is an organic product.

• (2) The application shall contain

  • (a) the name of the agricultural product;

  • (b) in the case of a multi-ingredient product, a statement setting out the percentage of each of the organic products it contains;

  • (c) a statement naming the substances used in the production of the agricultural product and describing the manner in which those substances are used; and

  • (d) a report setting out in detail the methods of production used in the production of the agricultural product and the control mechanisms in place to ensure that those methods comply at all times with the standards set out in the most recent edition of CAN/CGSB 32.310, entitled Organic Production Systems — General Principles and Management Standards.

International Marketing

• 9 (1) A person who wishes to market an organic product in export trade shall apply in writing to a certification body for a certificate confirming that the product is an organic product.

• (2) The application shall include evidence that the product has been certified as an organic product.

• (3) The certification body shall issue the certificate if it receives evidence that the product in respect of which the application was made is an organic product.

10 A person who wishes to market an organic product in import trade shall apply in writing to the competent authority of the country of origin for an attestation confirming that the product meets the requirements of these Regulations.

Procedure for Organic Certification and Certificate

• 11 (1) A certification body shall certify an agricultural product as an organic product if it determines, after evaluation, that

  • (a) in the case of a multi-ingredient product, at least 70% of its contents are organic products;

  • (b) the substances used in the production of the agricultural product are those set out in, and used in the manner described in, the most recent edition of CAN/CGSB 32.311, entitled Organic Production Systems — Permitted Substances List; and

  • (c) the methods of production used and the control mechanisms in place comply with the requirements set out in the most recent edition of CAN/CGSB 32.310, entitled Organic Production Systems — General Principles and Management Standards, and with the general principles respecting organic production set out in those standards.

• (2) The organic certification remains in effect for a period of one year beginning on the day on which it is granted.

Required Importation Documents

12 Every imported product identified as organic shall be accompanied at the time of its importation into Canada by the attestation required under section 10.

Suspension and Cancellation

• 13 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the certification body or the Agency shall suspend an organic certification under section 11 if

  • (a) its holder has not complied with any provision of the Act or these Regulations;

  • (b) in the case of a multi-ingredient product, less than 70% of its contents are organic products;

  • (c) the substances used by the holder in the production of the agricultural product are not those set out in, and used in the manner described in, the most recent edition of CAN/ CGSB 32.311, entitled Organic Production Systems — Permitted Substances List; and

  • (d) the methods used by the holder in the production of the agricultural product do not comply with the requirements set out in the most recent edition of CAN/CGSB 32.310, entitled Organic Production Systems — General Principles and Management Standards, and with the general principles respecting organic production set out in those standards.

• (2) No organic certification may be suspended unless the certification body or the Agency, as the case may be, has

  • (a) notified its holder that there are grounds for suspension;

  • (b) provided the holder with a copy of a report that specifies the grounds for suspension, the required corrective measures and the period within which those measures must be implemented to avoid suspension; and

  • (c) sent a notice of suspension to the holder and, in the case of the certification body, sent a copy of it to the Agency.

• (3) A suspension of an organic certification remains in effect until the required corrective measures are implemented and verified.

• (4) The certification body or the Agency shall cancel the certification if

  • (a) its holder has not implemented the required corrective measures within the specified period or within a longer period allowed under subsection (5); or

  • (b) the application made under section 8 contains false or misleading information.

• (5) If the holder has not implemented the required corrective measures, or their implementation is not possible, within the specified period, the holder may obtain from the Agency a longer period to implement those measures.

• (6) No certification may be cancelled unless the certification body or the Agency, as the case may be, has

  • (a) given its holder an opportunity to be heard in respect of the cancellation, either orally or in writing; and

  • (b) sent a notice of the cancellation to the holder and, in the case of the certification body, sent a copy of it to the Agency.

Labelling and Advertising

General Requirements

14 In addition to the requirements under section 15, every organic product shall meet the labelling and advertising requirements of the Food and Drugs Act and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and their regulations.

Specific Requirements

• 15 (1) The label of or, if applicable, the advertisement for an organic product shall contain

  • (a) the name of the certification body that has certified the product as an organic product or, in the case of an imported product, the name of the organization that has certified the product;

  • (b) in the case of a multi-ingredient product whose contents are more than 70% and less than 95% organic products, the statement “% organic products”, immediately following the percentage number rounded down to the nearest whole number; and

  • (c) in the case of an imported product for which the logo set out in the schedule or the designations “Canada Organic” and “Biologique Canada” are used on the label, the statement “Product of” immediately preceding the name of the country of origin or the statement “Imported”, in close proximity to the logo or the designations.

• (2) The statement “% organic products” refered to in paragraph (1)(b) shall appear on the principal display panel in accordance with subsection 14(2) of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations.

• (3) In respect of a multi-ingredient product that contains one or more organic products but that is not certified as an organic product under these Regulations, neither its label nor any advertisement for it may state that it is an organic product. Any organic product contained in it may, however, be identified as an organic product in its list of ingredients.

Coming into Force

SCHEDULE(Subsection 2(1), section 3 and paragraph 15(1)(c))

The logo may be either in black and white, as illustrated, or in colour: on a white background, the outer border in green (Pantone no. 368), the inner border in red (Pantone no. 186) the maple leaf in red (Pantone no. 186), and the lettering in white on a green background (Pantone no. 368).

• SOR/2007-10, s. 1