What are organic standards?
Organic standards define precisely the minimum requirements that a farm or product should meet in order to be certified organic.’ There are organic standards on national and international levels. For certification of products for export, the standards of the target market or importing country are to be compiled with. Some private labels such as Naturland, Demeter and BIO SUISSE have certain stipulations in addition to the national standards.
Indian National Standards for Organic Products (NSOP)
In 2000, the Government of India released the National Standards for Organic Products (NSOP) under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP). It stipulates that inspection and certification by a nationally accredited certification body is mandatory for labeling and selling products as “organic.” A copy of the NSOP is available from www.apeda.com
European Regulation EEC 2092/91
Most relevant for exports to Europe is the European Regulation EEC 2092/91. An amended version of this complex regulation is available on
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/consleg/main/1991/en_1991R2092_index.html
IFOAM Basic Standards
Being the mother of organic standards, IFOAM Basic Standards are not standards for certification but standards for standard setting on the national and international levels. They are regularly reviewed and updated in a democratic process by the IFOAM members from all over the world. The latest copy is available from headoffice@ifoam.org
US-NOP standards.
USDA s National Organic Program regulates the organic standards for farm production, wild crop harvesting and handling operation. In order to label or to sell an agricultural product as organic in the U.S., compliance with NOP standards is an indispensable requisite.
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/indexIE.htm