Definitions

Accreditation: Administrative process leading to the official recognition of a certifying/inspection body of Quebec's products bearing a reserved designation.

Agri-food designation: Designation assigned to agricultural foods and products attesting to their methods and areas of production and/or their specific characteristics. Designations are a sign of quality mentioned on certain agricultural foods and products, and their use forms a part of the repertory of various marketing strategies available to firms or company groups. They describe one or more of a product's characteristics, distinguishing it from others product in the same category.

Agrifood or farm product: Any agricultural food product, either in its raw or processed form, that is marketed for human consumption (excluding water, salt and additives), or for animal feed.

Allegation: Oral and written claim, be it implicit or explicit, or even symbolic notation formulated and addressed to buyers of organic products. They refer to the "organic certification" process, to "organic agriculture" or use such terms as "organic," "biologic," "ecological," "biodynamic," along with their associated derivatives (i.e.: eco or bio), or expressions referring to the percentage of organic ingredients (i.e.: 95% organic ingredients), or to their composition or organic origin (i.e.: "made with organic wheat").

Allopathic treatment: Disease treatment method involving substances that produce reactions or effects differing from those produced by the disease.

Buffer zone: A clearly defined and recognizable zone surrounding an organic production unit and used to limit the application of or accidental contact with prohibited substances found in adjacent non-organic zones.

Bulk: Products being sold without special presentation (i.e. in open bins), and which are not provided in units, cases or bags, so that consumers can determine the quantity, weight or number of product units they wish (i.e. fruit).

Certification: Administrative procedure by which authorized certifying bodies provide a written guarantee that foodstuffs or food control systems comply with specific set of specifications. Depending on the situation, food certification is either based on a complete set of controls envisaged for the ongoing inspection of a production chain, for auditing quality assurance systems and for examining finished products.

Certified firm: Operation or firm producing or processing agricultural foods products that are certified organic by a certifying body, in accordance with Quebec organic reference standards.

Certified organic product: Every organic product subjected to certification in order to verify that it meets Quebec's organic reference standards.

Certifying body: Organization that supervises certification procedures and is responsible for verifying that products sold or labeled as "organic" are produced, processed, prepared, handled and imported in accordance with Quebec's organic reference standards.

Compost: Stabilized product mixture undergoing controlled decomposition using nitrogenous and carbon matter, and piled in heaps and then turned over periodically, heated to temperatures up to 55⁰C, and then left in place for an extended period of time (without harming the environment), in order to produce humus which can be used for improving and fertilizing soil.

Distribution: General series of operations and circuits through which a product will be made available to a buyer once it has been produced.

Distribution (large-scale): Sale of goods in large surface or box stores, most of which are distribution outlets for large chain operations.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs): Organisms and resultant products created through genetic modification and engineering techniques such as DNA recombination, cellular fusion, encapsulation, macro and micro injection and genetic removal or amplification, and other techniques used to modify the genetic composition of living organisms or that lead to results that would otherwise be impossible to obtain in a natural environment, through coupling or traditional reproduction techniques such as conjugation, hybridization or transduction.

Homeopathic treatment: Disease treatment method based on the administration of small amounts of a substances to healthy animals that when administered in large doses would cause symptoms resembling the disease itself.

Importing: Acquisition of agricultural food and products bearing an organic designation and originating from suppliers outside of Quebec, with the intention of market them on Quebec territory. The importer is would be the first firm or individual that markets the product on Quebec territory.

Ingredient: Any substance or additive used in the processing, manufacture or preparation of a food product, including any modified substances added to the final product.

Inspection: Evaluation of a product, a process or system relative to predetermined requirements. When foods are produced through organic farming, inspection involves an examination of their production and processing systems.

Irradiation of food: Cleansing or preserving packaged or bulk food products in order to destroy contaminants, using a method involving the use of ionizing and gamma rays emitted from cobalt-60 or cesium-1371 x-rays, produced with an apparatus operating at an energy level of 5 MeV or less and electrons produced by an apparatus operating at an energy level of 10 MeV or less.

Label: All visual presentation methods used in printed and/or written text and/or graphic symbol format and found on or associated with food or food products, and used to sell them.

List of allowed substances: List of components, inputs or methods that operators may use in compliance with Tables 1 to 4 from Quebec's organic reference standards.

Livestock: Any animal intended for produce food or food products, including but not limited to, cattle, horses, goats, poultry, sheep, pigs and wild or domestic game.

Marketing: Keeping or displaying products for the purpose of sale, delivery or any other mode of commercial activity.

Mix: Physical contact between organic and non organic food products, be they bulk, freestanding or packaged products during their production, processing, transport, storage or handling procedures. This term does not apply to cases where both food types undergo joint processing.

Monitoring: Program developed by the CARTV in order to protect consumers. Under the authority of Chapter 3 in the Act Respecting Reserved Designations, this program investigates and restrains any fraudulent and unauthorized use of reserved designations

Operator: Any individual, firm or corporate entity that produces, handles or processes organic designation products for marketing purposes, and that once grown, raised and produced organically would be certified in accordance with Quebec's organic reference standards.

Organic agriculture: Production system that encourages agricultural operators to manage their resources in a cyclic manner, leading to increased fertility and organic activity in soils through augmenting the quality and the quantity of the organic materials they contain. It also involves a restricted use of additives originating from outside sources, replacing the need for fertilizers and chemical pesticides through developing an environment comprised of a very diverse range of species and superior levels of organic activity. The organic growing techniques by themselves cannot ensure that agricultural production contain absolutely no contaminants. It is a recognized fact that firms cannot possibly avoid certain sources of pollution found in air, ground and water, among others.

Organic integrity: Maintenance of a product's inherent organic qualities, from production through to the point of sale, in compliance with Quebec's organic reference standards.

Organic product: Food product or substance manufactured within the framework of a system that meets Quebec's organic reference standards.

Parallel distribution: Activities involving the distribution of both certified organic products and conventional products. For example, a company buying and retailing both conventional and certified organic products would distribute them in parallel.

Parallel production: Simultaneous production on the same farm operation involving crops, livestock and/or related organic and non-organic products.

Phytosanitary product: Substance designed to prevent, destroy, attract, hold back or control harmful organisms or diseases, including undesirable vegetable or animal species, during food production, storage, transport, distribution and processing of agricultural produce or livestock feed.

Preparation: Operations involving processing, preserving and conditioning of agricultural foods and products, and also modifications made to labeling used in the presentation of organic production methods.

Production: Operations (including initial processing and labeling) undertaken to supply agricultural products in their original formats during farming operations.

Production unit: Land comprising growing areas where food is produced according to a specific management plan.

Prohibited substance: Component, input or measure used in any aspect of organic production, processing, manufacture or handling that is prohibited or not included on the List of Permitted Substances included within Quebec's organic reference standards.

Reserved designation: Official identification used to refer to a product's quality, geographic origin or production method. It consists of a generic term assigned and controlled by the government in order to protect the designation against infringement and imitation. A reserved designation is not a registered trademark, rather it is a mark generally used to identify niche products having high added values (i.e.: champagne).

Standardization: General procedures found in official reference documents that cover solutions to technical and commercial problems pertaining to products, goods or services, and that show up in a recurring manner during relations among economic, scientific, technical or corporate partners.

Synthetic: Artificial substance formulated or fabricated using a chemical process or one that chemically modifies compounds made from natural vegetable, animal or mineral extracts. This term does not apply to compounds obtained by synthesis or products produced by natural type of organic processes, such as heating and mechanical processing.

Traceability: Documentary control system by which all products labeled organic or containing organic ingredients can be traced to their origins, containing information ranging from ownership transfers to details on transport procedures (i.e., the supply process).

Transition product: Product originating from a firm being monitored by a certifying body and that is in the process of completing its transitional period before becoming a certified firm.