Canadian Retailers May Need Certification

"(May 9, 1:53 p.m.) A lot of details still need to be sorted out before the new Canada Organic Regime goes into effect.

One key item — whether or not retailers will have to become certified organic in order to carry bulk organics and do in-house fresh-cut organic produce — is still uncertain.

“That little piece is in limbo right now,” said Heather Holland, senior technical manager for food safety and government relations for the Ottawa-based Canadian Produce Marketing Association.

It’s one thing to make sure the integrity of organic produce is protected, but quite another to require all areas of the supply chain, regardless of whether or not they alter the product, to be certified, Holland said.

“The supply chain is a very long, segmented beast,” Holland said. “Produce actually goes through many hands, and not all of those would change the product.”

The Canada Organic Regime is similar to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program and the CFIA monitors and enforces the regulations."

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