Verifying organic products
Anyone who suspects a violation of the Canada Organic Regime (COR) such as fraudulent organic claims or activities may contact the CFIA to submit a complaint.
This year, the CFIA’s COR team received 26 complaints:
- 24 were against operators holding certification under the COR scope
- 1 was against a CFIA-accredited Certification Body
- 1 was against a former organic product certificate holder
Of the 26 complaints received, they have successfully resolved 16 and are still evaluating the remaining 10 complaints.
As reported in the Food Fraud Annual Report 2021 to 2022, CFIA continue to update the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) to capture more information about how organic products are entering Canada. This will also allow for more efficient validation of organic certificates at the time of import. They will notify importers once all import requirements are incorporated into AIRS. After that, importers of organic food commodities will be required to submit a digital copy of the organic product certificate when declaring organic products online, using the Integrated Import Declaration system. For continued updates on this work, refer to Canada Organic Regime Import Requirements.
The CFIA conducted 19 label verifications of organic claims made on organic fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables. Results indicated a 100% compliance rate.
- There were 10 organic products of domestic origin inspected including eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes, green peas, cauliflower, corn, edamame beans and enoki mushrooms.
- There were 9 organic imported products inspected including blackberries, yellow potatoes, red grapes, blueberries, frozen mango, sweet peppers and sweet potatoes.
CFIA-accredited Certification Bodies conducted additional activities including certification and other forms of oversight under the Canada Organic Regime. Such activities included label and documentation reviews, as well as on-site and unannounced inspections.
Read the full report here: Food Fraud Annual Report 2022 to 2023
Source: CFIA