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The only way customers can be assured that they are purchasing genuinely certified organic products, produced without the use of synthetic chemicals and GMO’s, is to check for the organic certification. The product may have one of the Australian or US logos or it may have a certification logo from Europe, the UK or elsewhere.
The organic certification programme was established in the 1980’s in Australia. It required an independent setting of Standards and a team of assessors known as auditors or inspectors. Organic certification systems rely on a certification mark or logo to confirm that it has been independently certified based on national and international Standards for organic production.
Organic Certification is maintained by organic producers and marketers by:
• Annual audits and spot (unannounced) checks are carried out to ensure full compliance with the strict Organic Standard
• All operators must maintain an OMP (Organic Management Plan) and report annually to their certifying body.
• There must be a clearly auditable trail of all products sold by a certified operator to prevent fraud.
(This page is still being finalised.)
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DEMETER LOGO
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Biodynamic (Demeter) Certification
The BioDynamic Marketing Research Institute is an Australian Government accredited organic and biodynamic certification organisation responsible for the DEMETER trademark. The Bio-Dynamic Gardeners Association Inc. (BDGAI) is the advisory organisation for home gardeners and hobby farmers.
Biodynamic agriculture is an advanced form of organic farming invented by the Austrian philosopher Rudolph Steiner (1861 - 1925). Using biological soil preparations farmers using this method concentrate on building the nutrients and structure of the soil in order to increase the vitality of the plants and animals being farmed on it. As with organic farming they only use natural fertilisers and no chemical poisons or artificial fertilisers, herbicides or other preparations.
Biodynamic agriculture is recognised as the premium organic method of farming worldwide.
Preparations made from farm-sourced materials are designed to work directly with the dynamic biological processes and environmental cycles which are the basis of soil fertility. While Biodynamic production methods are, by their very nature, compatible with organic standards, organic production systems are not by default biodynamic which requires an even more stringent method of farming than that of certified organic farming.
See ‘What is Biodynamic Farming?’.
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| BFA AND ACO LOGOS |
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BFA (Biological Farmers of Australia) and the ACO (Australian Certified Organic) bud logo provides certification to all sectors of the organic industry. Certification ensures compliance with national production s |
| NASAA LOGO |
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Formed in 1986, The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA) is a well known organic certifier. |
| OGA LOGO |
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OGA (Organic Growers of Australia) iance with national production standards and allows the trace back of all products to their origin. |
| TOP LOGO |
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TOP (Tasmania Organic Producers) |
| OFC LOGO |
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OFC (Organic Food Chain) |
| AQIS LOGO |
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| USDA LOGO |
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USDA - United States Department of Agriculture Organic Food Certification |
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