CAN/CGSB 32.310-2006 PDF

1.1 Foods and other agricultural products shall refer to organic production methods only if they come from a farm system employing management practices that seek to nurture ecosystems in order to achieve sustainable productivity; and that provide weed, pest and disease control through a diverse mix of mutually dependent life forms, recycling of plant and animal residues, crop selection and rotation, water management, tillage and cultivation.

1.2 This standard applies to the following products that carry or are intended to carry descriptive labelling referencing organic production methods:

1. unprocessed plants and plant products, livestock and livestock products, to the extent that the principles of production and specific verification rules for them are described in the standard
2. processed agricultural crop and livestock products intended for human consumption derived from the items mentioned in par. 1.2 a.

1.3 A product will be regarded as bearing indications referring to organic production methods where, in the labelling or claims, including advertising material or commercial documents, the product or its ingredients are described by the terms organic, biodynamic, biological and ecological or by words of similar intent, including diminutives, which suggest to the purchaser that the product or its ingredients were obtained according to organic production methods.

1.4 Par. 1.3 does not apply where these terms clearly have no connection with the products mentioned in par. 1.2.

1.5 The requirements in this standard complement Canadian health, environmental, agricultural, feed and food regulatory requirements.

1.6 Quantities and dimensions in this standard are given in metric units with yard/pound equivalents, mostly obtained through soft conversion, given in parentheses. The metric units shall be regarded as official in the event of dispute or unforeseen difficulty arising from the conversion.

1.7 All inputs used in organic production such as fertilizers, feeds, pesticides, soil amendments, veterinary treatments, processing additives or aids, sanitizing and cleaning material, and any other production input shall be approved by the appropriate government regulatory agency for the products’ intended use, where regulations govern the use of such inputs.

1.8 Prohibited Substances, Methods or Ingredients in Organic Production and Handling

1.8.1 When producing or handling organic products sold or labelled as being products whose content is partially or wholly organic, it is forbidden to use any of the following substances or techniques:

1. all materials and products produced from genetic engineering as these are not compatible with the principles of organic production (growing, preparing and selling) and therefore are not accepted under this standard
2. synthetic pesticides (e.g. defoliants and desiccants, fungicides, insecticides and rodenticides), wood preservatives (e.g. arsenate) or other pesticides, except as specified in CAN/CGSB-32.31
3. fertilizer or composted plant and animal material that contains a prohibited substance (not included in CAN/CGSB-32.311)
4. sewage sludge, in any form, as defined in this standard, as a soil amendment
5. synthetic growth regulators
6. synthetic allopathic veterinary drugs, including antibiotics and parasiticides, except as specified in this standard
7. synthetic processing substances, aids and ingredients, and food additives and processing aids including sulphates, nitrates and nitrites, except as specified in CAN/CGSB-32.311
8. ionizing radiation and forms of irradiation on products destined for food or their inputs, as defined in this standard, except as specified in CAN/CGSB-32.311
9. equipment, packaging materials and storage containers, or bins that contain a synthetic fungicide, preservative or fumigant
10. substances that are not included in CAN/CGSB-32.311, except as provided by this standard

1.8.2 The same ingredient in both an organic and non-organic form shall not be present in an organic product.