20 JULY 2003 | VOLUME 5, NO 3

      Organic cosmetic and personal care products will be monitored in Quebec

        The CAQ has decided to extend its supervision of organic designations to cosmetics and personal care products.

        As of January 1st, 2004, cosmetic and personal care products using the term "organic" on their labels, due to the presence of organic ingredients in their production, will have to have been verified, at the very least, by a certifying body accredited or recognized by the CAQ. In such circumstances, the name of the body will have to be written on the label, in the following format: "Verified by (name of body)". This format is already used for agri-food products whose composition of organic ingredients is less than 70%.

        As the industry of cosmetic and personal care products is relatively new, it has not been subject to Quebec regulations that (have applied) to organic agri-food products since 2000. The ever-increasing popularity of organic cosmetics is pushing manufacturers to develop new product lines using organic ingredients. As such, it has become imperative to protect the interests of consumers and manufacturers alike against possible commercial abuses.

      The CAQ's Annual Meeting

        The latest annual meeting of the CAQ was held on March 13, 2003 in Drummondville.

        Declaring themselves satisfied with the measures taken, as well as with the results obtained during the previous year, the Directors, as well as the General Manager, shared with the other members of the meeting the major goals of the CAQ's action plan for 2003.

        In short, it deals with certain aspects of standardization, specifically those dealing with the drafting and enactment of distribution, retail, aquaculture and textile standards. With respect to products slated for sale in Quebec, the CAQ states that it plans to supervise the implementation of monitoring measures starting on July 1st, 2003.

        Concerning the monitoring of the organic designation, the CAQ will put in place a system to identify non-complying products, and will also reinforce legal prosecution procedures.

        Another priority for the CAQ for 2003 is recognition outside of Quebec. As was the case with the USDA, the CAQ intends to use all means possible to obtain recognition of products from Quebec in Japan and the European Union.

        With respect to communications, the goal is to increase the number of communications activities, and to completely redesign the CAQ's Web site. The CAQ also intends to make available to surfers the list of all organic merchants in Quebec, along with their products.

      The Board of Directors

        We are pleased to announce that Marc Périard has been reappointed as representative for the merchants sector, and that Serge Nault has been appointed as representative of the organic producers sector in the 2003 structure of the Board of Directors of the CAQ.

      Consulting on manure standards

        The CAQ is currently finishing a standards project that specifically deals with the importing of manure for organic agriculture.

        This proposal will be open for public consultation from December 2003 to February 2004 before being submitted to the Board of Directors for final approval.

      Harmonizing the CAQ's standards with national American standards (NOP)

        As a great deal of organic products from Quebec are sold outside of the province, and more specifically in the United-States, the CAQ is currently drafting changes to the organic standards of Quebec in order to harmonize them with the majority of those found in North-America.

        With a view to simplifying the certification process, the Board of Directors has given a mandate to the Standards Committee of the CAQ to revise the organic standards of Quebec, so as to make them at least the equivalent of the ones currently in use in the United States, and to harmonize the specifications that are in place to certify organic products in Quebec.

        A preliminary consultation on the harmonization of the CAQ and USDA standards (NOP) will be made from July to November 2003, in order to notify all operators and business partners of the Quebec organic agri-food sector of possible modifications, and to record their comments.

        Consensual changes to standards arising from this consultative exercise will be submitted to the Board of Directors' judgment before final enactment.

        CAQ-Accredited certifying bodies will then have to change their specifications in order to comply with this new standard by 2004.

        These modifications will grant organic Quebec operators an automatic NOP certification, thanks to the certification they will receive from CAQ-accredited bodies and this will enable them to have access to the North-American market.

      Inspecting points of sale

        The CAQ will hold a pilot project during the summer of 2003 to monitor the use of the organic designations in various points of sale in Quebec.

        This project strives to ascertain the degree of compliance in the labeling of products sold in retail outlets, before the monitoring program, developed and managed by the CAQ, is to be fully implemented.

        A first assessment of this project is planned for next September.
The Board of Directors of the CAQ
Name
Sector Represntative
Title
Bigras, Gilles Transformation Director
Bolduc, Claire Co-opted Director
Bouffard, Denis-Paul General Manager of the CAQ Secretary
Fréchette, Julie Certification Director
Marcoux, Arthur Delegate of the MAPAQ Advisor
Nault, Serge Production Director
Paré, Frédéric Consumption Director
Périard, Marc Trade Vice-President
Van Geenhoven, Jacques Co-opted President

Personnel of the CAQ
Name
Title
Bouffard,Denis-Paul General Manager
Boyer, Thierry Communications & Monitoring
Bukusu, Pierre Standardization & Product Entry into Quebec
Cottaz, Delphine Accreditation
Gasse, Violaine Administration/Clerical