New 'organic' food label rules introduced in New Brunswick
The New Brunswick government has created new regulations to ensure all products labelled 'organic' meet strict national standards.
Producers must now obtain certification from a body accredited by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to use the 'organic' label.
That's something that New Brunswick's 56 nationally-certified organic growers have been pushing for.
Tegan Renner is New Brunswick’s coordinator for the Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network.
"You see a lot of other use of 'organic’ in the marketplace, with people that haven't invested the time and money in certification,” she said.
“So now that we do have use of the term 'organic', and ‘organically grown’ and similar language, regulated in the province, those farmers that are investing in certification have the protection of using 'organic.'"
She said the network is reaching out to farmers, retailers, restaurants, markets and consumers to raise awareness about the regulations and to promote New Brunswick organics over the coming year in partnership with the department.
The federal regulations around organic products came into effect in 2009 and made certification to the Canada Organic Standard mandatory for organic products being sold internationally or inter-provincially.
However, products sold within provinces are not subject to these regulations.
New Brunswick is the third province to regulate its organic market, following Quebec and Manitoba.
