Health Canada Officially Proposes Federal Organic Framework

Health Canada has published the proposed Organic Products Regulations in the Canada Gazette Part I. These long-awaited Regulations will create what amounts to a federal certification scheme for the third-party organic certifying bodies already at work under provincial regulation in British Columbia and Quebec and as a voluntary system in other provinces. The overall scheme will be called the "Canada Organic Regime" It will consist, in brief, of Federal certification of the certifiers. As the Regulations will be made under the Canada Agricultural Products Act, enforcement and penalties will follow the provisions of that statute and of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act. A national, bilingual logo for organic products that have been certified pursuant to the new Regulations is also established. The timing of these Regulations is being driven by the EU's requirement that imported organic foods be so certified by a government program which appears on an approved "third-party certification list" by December 31 of this year. The proposed Regulations can be accessed at (beginning at page 2502): http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2006/20060902/pdf/g1-14035.pdf (page 2502) For more information on food, drug, natural health product and other regulatory law matters, contact Gord Jepson or Sue Diaz. Summary by: Gordon Jepson