A new standard for organic production launched last week will combat fraud in the industry, says leading organic producer Jim Kebbell.
Kebbell chaired the expert committee that developed the new national standard - formally known as NZS 8410:2003 Organic production - for Standards New Zealand.
The standard is a voluntary document which
can be used by the sector as a benchmark for industry certification.
"The standard aims to give greater assurance to consumers that the product they buy has been grown organically," he said.
"Currently, anyone can label their produce as organic, because they know that if they do so they can command higher prices, but that product could have been grown without reference to organic principles whatsoever."
Across the Tasman, checks by Queensland health authorities of 96 organic products found pesticide residues in 15 per cent of them, and 78 per cent of the contaminated products were labelled "certified organic".
Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton said the launch of the organic standard and an associated sector strategy, and the success of a small-scale organic certification scheme which had become Organic Farm NZ, meant three Government-funded initiatives had enhanced the organic sector.
"The industry now has the necessary framework to enable it to prosper and grow," he said.
"The extent to which it does will depend on the demands of consumers around the world, and the ability of the industry to meet that demand."
- NZPA
