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The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) does not provide certification for organic growers in New Zealand and there are no specific regulations in New Zealand to enforce the definition of organic. This relies on the Fair Trading Act.
The Fair Trading Act (FTA) exists to:
promote fair competition
make sure consumers get accurate information before buying products and services
promote product safety.
The FTA makes it illegal for businesses to mislead or deceive you, and requires them to make sure the information they provide is accurate, and that they don't withhold important information.
There is currently a bill going through Parliament (Organic Products Bill 2020). This aims to:
improve consumers’ confidence when purchasing organic products
propose a regime to regulate organic claims and the businesses that make them
increase certainty for businesses claiming that their products are organic
facilitate international trade in organic products.
The bill will create consistency amongst organic claims and outlines the processes businesses would have to follow for approval to market their products as organic, and national standards for production rules organic businesses would have to follow.
Organics Aotearoa, producers and consumers have been asking the Government to provide minimum standards to protect the industry from greenwashing, and attract investment and exports.
In the absence of specific regulation, a number of private standards have been developed to provide credence to organic claims, for example:
AsureQuality Organic Standards: https://www.asurequality.com/our-industries/organic-certification/asurequality-organic-standard/
BioGro Organic Standards: https://www.biogro.co.nz/biogro-standards
In addition, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) also administers an assurance programme called the Official Organic Assurance Programme (this programme is not supported by legislation). The purpose of the programme is to enable exporters to provide assurances to export markets that require them.
Shoppers want clarity on organic produce standards _ Stuff.co.nz.pdf
Certification Bodies
Certification Bodies
In New Zealand there are four main Organic Certification bodies. Organic certification provides a guarantee to consumers that a product, from the farm through to the factory, is produced with solely organic inputs and processes that satisfy organic standards . Certified organic producers must keep records of everything they do in the production process.
Additionally to these is Hua Parakore, an indigenous verification and validation system for mahinga kai (food and product production) that is initiated and driven by Te Waka Kai Ora (National Mäori Organics Authority of Aotearoa).
“Hua Parakore is an integrity based process about authenticating Maori seed, Māori grown, Māori verified, Māori marketed and Māori exported. Hua Parakore is the Maori point of difference.” Percy Tipene, Chairman, Te Waka Kai Ora
A key distinguishing feature of Hua Parakore from non- indigenous organic verification systems is that it is informed by locally owned and managed indigenous knowledge systems. The Hua Parakore self- evaluation process facilitates the implementation of a production system that upholds the principle of mana whenua (local indigenous communities) and is a practice of mana motuhake (independence).
TePapawhairikimoHuaParakoreFINAL(3) (1).pdfNgaKaupapaoHuaParakore(1).pdfOnsite Certification for Toi Ohomai
Onsite Certification for Toi Ohomai
For the purposes of the practical components of the programme delivered at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, it was decided that BioGro would be the certification body to align with.
Below is the webpage of BioGro Organic standards with information covering compliance requirements, actions and certified inputs.
Articles
Articles
Interesting article asking the questions around organic certification in New Zealand
How to Get Organic Certification in New Zealand - Balance Transfers - A Kiwi Microfinance Blog.pdfArticle looking at the POD system. It works on a local level with small groups of organic growers peer reviewing each other under OFNZ guidance and external auditing.
Pod powerOrganic NZ31019.pdfCertification Process
Certification Process
Organic Property Management Plan
Organic Property Management Plan
These must be completed each year. It provides details of the property both in the past and going forward.
An example from OFNZ is shown below with a link to 'OFNZ Property Management Plan Guidelines'
BioGro Organic Certification Initial Form
BioGro Organic Certification Initial Form
Below is a copy of the BioGro Organic Certification Application Form. This process will soon be fully online.
New Primary Production application (cropping)_ARCHIVED 27.08.20 (1).pdfPage updated
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