Labeling and Packaging

In Quebec, who is responsible for monitoring the organic designation?

The Conseil des appellations réservées et des termes valorisants(CARTV) has been mandated by Quebec's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Québec (Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec or MAPAQ). In fact, in 1996 the Government of Quebec adopted the Act Respecting Reserved Designations (Chap. A 20.02) in order to provide a legal framework for the recognition of designations. It was replaced by the Act Respecting Reserves Designations and Value-Added Claims on JUne 15, 2008. As of today, the organic designation is the first and only reserved designation in use.

What regulations apply to organic product labeling?

Labeling. When appearing on the label or the packaging, the term 'organic' indicates that a product has met specific standards that apply to organic agriculture. An organic product always bears the name of the certifying body that has certified it.

This labeling acts as a guide to aware consumers. Certifying bodies evaluate operations in accordance with various organic standards and these bodies must have received formal approval from one or more competent authorities. The label affixed by a certifying body thus informs consumers as to the type of standards applied during production and processing, and also the type of approval this body has granted. Many certifying agencies are active at the international level, with most of them being private organizations operating in developed countries.

Compulsory national standards. The directives established by Codex Standards and the International Foundation for Organic Agriculture (IFOAM) represent minimal recommendations for organic agriculture standards and their purpose is to assist any governments and control agencies not having such standards. As such, they serve as a standard for standards and governments can use them to develop national organic agriculture programs, in formats that are often more detailed and thus they meet directives specific to the countries involved. Most of the national standards (Quebec, EU countries, Japan, Argentina, India, Tunisia, the United States being examples) are specified within legally binding regulations.

Access further information on the Quebec Organic Reference Standard and CARTV-approved certifying bodies

We would like to use the term "Natural" on our packaging, where can we find labeling standards that apply to the use of this term?

The term "Natural" is not considered as a synonym, derivative or diminutive of the term "organic." This means that the Quebec's organic reference standards do not apply to this notion, nor do others such as "farmer" or "traditional."

Who must approve packaging mentioning the term "organic" before it is printed?

The certifying body that monitors the operator must approve these labels, making sure they comply with Quebec's Act Respecting Reserved Designations and Added-Value Claims. If you have any doubts, please contact the CARTV to have the information appearing on your labels and/or packaging validated.

Must a certifying body's address and logo appear on product packing?

No. The Quebec Organic Reference Standard require that at the very least the name of the certifier appear on the packaging, along with the mention "Certified by (name of certifier)". For products containing 70% or less ingredients from organic agriculture, the obligatory mention is "Verified by (name of certifier)."