1. Nominations to the CARTV’s Board of Directors

Following Frédéric Paré’s resignation, we are pleased to announce the nomination of Genevieve Reed as Consumers’ Associations’ Representative. Ms. Reed is head of Research and Advocacy Services for Option Consommateurs, a non-profit organization dedicated to the defense and advancement of consumer interests.

In addition Serge Poussier has been newly appointed as Québec’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ) representative replacing Arthur Marcoux in his role as observer on the CARTV’s Board of Directors.

Welcome to our new members!

2. New Requirements Regarding Trademarks

The increase in the number of trademarks in the agri-food sector using an organic designation in one form or another could be a cause of major confusion among consumers. In the sphere of consumer protection the CARTV is adding new requirements to its Organic Standards 1: Requirements for persons marketing agri-food products in Québec produced by organic agriculture. Here are the terms and conditions of the new requirements:

9. Trademarks Causing Confusion

9.1 Every enterprise marketing an agricultural or food product under a trademark of which it is the owner shall insure that such trademark shall not be the cause of any confusion or unfair competition regarding reserved designations usage under Québec’s Ministery of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ).

9.2. Whenever an agricultural or food product is marketed under a trademark that implicitly or explicitly refers to an organic designation or a term derived from within this designation, despite the fact that it contains no organic ingredients, the trademark appearing on the label, the advertising and other aspects of product presentation, beginning January 2007, shall always be accompanied by a clear and legible statement that “this product is not organically produced” or again that “this product contains no organically produced ingredients”.

9.3 Beginning in 2007, the failure of an enterprise to comply with the requirements of section 9.2 by using a trademark of the kind described above, will be in contravention of Section 21 of the Reserved Designations Act.

These new requirements come into effect January 1, 2007.

3. Organic Aquaculture Standards: In effect as of May 15, 2007

Aquaculture products sold under an Organic Designation in Québec shall now be certified by a certification body, which is accredited or authorized by the CARTV.

The CARTV Organic Aquaculture Standards came into effect as of May 15, 2005. The first of its kind in Canada and North America as a whole, this standards enable the controlled use of organic designations for aquaculture products whatever their origins. Thanks to this initiative, all enterprises involved in handling or production can easily demonstrate their products’ compliance with CARTV requirements and other international organic standards for national as well as international markets.

The adopted Organic Aquaculture Standards governs:

• Fish Farming in freshwater or saltwater (pisciculture);
• Mollusk Farming, (clams, mussels and oysters);
• Crustacean Farming, (particularly shrimps).

Excluded from these standards are:

• Fishing and harvesting wild aquatic produce both animals and plants;
• Aquatic plant production (e.g. algae).

These standards have been included in Québec Organic Reference Standards Section 6.14. You can find it on our Internet Site at:

http://www.caaq.org/en/organic-designation/organic-standard/livestock-production.asp#p614

4. Clarification of Organic Reference Standards : Organic Wine

The presence in the Québec market, of wines described as organic, has led the CARTV to clarify its labeling standards dealing with alcoholic beverages and with wine in particular (Section 9.3.2 Québec Organic Reference Standards).

There is presently no official organic standard for wine making. Only grape crop production is under a particular organic standard. The CARTV Administrative Council has decided therefore that, beginning on January 1, 2006, all wines sold in Québec containing sulfites and described as organic or in a similar fashion, shall be labeled in the following manner: “Wine produced with organic grapes” or displaying a statement judged to be similar.

Other alcoholic beverages produced through fermentation (cider, beer etc.) shall be subject to the same labeling regulations.

The name of the certification body shall also appear on the label, as is the case for all other certified products.

5. Ongoing Consultations

The CARTV is holding two consultations on June 20 and August 15, 2005 on the regulation of health care of slaughter animals and on the status of meat from non-organic breeding stock undergoing a conversion period.

Another more ambitious consultation will be held from July 22 to September 22, 2005. It will study a revision of the list of permitted substances for organic agriculture in Québec.

Interested? Do you want to have your say? You can find the relevant documents and ways to participate in the Public Consultation section of our website:

http://www.caaq.org/en/consultations/public-consultations-amendments.asp

6. Newly Authorized Certification Bodies

The CARTV has recognized two new certification bodies for foreign products destined for sale in Québec. They are:

• The Comité Aaragonés de Agricultura Écologica Mercazaragoza, de Zaragoza in Spain for products coming from Spain only. Accredited June 16, 2005.
• Texas Department of Agriculture, Austin Texas (USA) for products from the United States only. Accredited June 16 2005.

7. Changes – Québec Product Entry Acceptance Program

In response to a number of suggestions and questions from those involved, the CARTV has changed Section 4 of its Québec Product Entry Acceptance Program on the subject of the acceptance of products originating outside of Québec and especially:

• by reaffirming in a clearer fashion that the use of additives or secondary ingredients made from genetically engineered products (GMOs) in the preparation of organic products is prohibited in Québec. (Section 4.4);
• by clarifying labeling requirements for products originating outside Québec (Section 4.6);
• by applying the same requirements for hydroponic and airoponic products originating outside Québec as for Québec products in Section 5.13.4 of the Québec Organic Reference Standards. These Products may not be sold as organic.

The clarifications concerning these requirements come into effect as soon as they are posted on the CARTV website.

8. Changes to the CARTV Website

Almost a year after going online we have decided to initiate changes to our website to improve its navigability and search-ability after comments from our visitors.

• The list of Accredited and Authorized Certifiers as well the Québec Organic Reference Standards are now always directly accessible on the left in the vertical menu in the Organic Designations Section in light orange.
• The structure of each section has been reworked to eliminate redundant links.
• We will add a management module for the lists of subscribers to our publications. These lists will allow us to send you this bulletin, for example, and all other pertinent information. Subscribing and un-subscribing will be done directly from the home page.
• Finally, we have added RSS feeds which will allow you to subscribe through a newsreader in order to keep up with changes to the site.

Don’t hesitate to send us your comments and test your knowledge with the fun little questionnaire found on the CARTV Home Page.

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