True organics

IN THE organic island of Negros, how can a consumer tell whether food is "organic" or simply an organic wannabe? One sure deal would be to pay an arm and a leg to have a food product lab tested.

On the other hand, Leah Ocampo, program director of the Philippine International Food Exposition insisted that food items labeled as "organic" are non-organic if they lack certification from authorized organizations.

Ms. Ocampo asserted that backyard vegetables raised and grown without pesticides or fruits from trees or that in the forest can be labeled "organic." For her, these food items must be certified by authorized groups so they can be aligned with the global standards.

Organic certification is very relevant to the provincial governments of Occidental and Oriental Negros, both of whom aspire to make Negros Island the organic food bowl of Asia.

But there is certification, and certification. It's not limited to third party certification has the right to be labeled "organic" as stipulated by RA 10068, or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, is in fact turning out to be deficient and is not in keeping with international standards.

The International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements amplified the discussions on organic certification. IFOAM is the worldwide umbrella organization for the organic agriculture movement, uniting more than 750 member organizations in 108 countries, including the Philippines.

Certification, as IFOAM pointed out, is defined as a system by which the conformity of products, services, practices, etc. to applicable standards is determined and confirmed, either by the following certifiers: First Party Certification, the suppliers and producers; Second Party Certification; the customers and the consumers; and Third Party Certification, an independent and neutral body.

New Zealander Chris May, an organic horticulturist, emphasized in a Participatory Guarantee System workshop there is a "need for an organic guarantee recognized in local markets not constrained by the compliance requirements and costs of third party export focused certification."

In other words, if most marketable organics are sold in Bacolod, why bother with the more expensive third party certification when there are cheaper and reliable guarantee systems out there?

Chris May knows what he's talking about. He acts as the IFOAM PGS Committee as team leader. He was a resource person two years ago on PGS.

Mr. May further pointed out that there is a desire for change in the way organic food is certified, the good news is that worldwide, the organic industry is growing by leaps and bounds. The bad news is that big business is cornering the market since this sector can afford to pay the hefty third party certification fees. Third party certification could be exclusive, bureaucratic and irrelevant to local markets.

He pointed out that other motivating factors for promoting PGS is to enable organic farmers to reduce paper work in the organic guarantee process; and to promote equity and fairness through the production chain.

No, third party certification should not be the end-all, be-all of what makes food items "organic." There are other guarantee systems, as the Organik na Negros! Organic Producers and Retailers Association (ONOPRA) and its other member organizations are promoting.

There might even come a time when Negros Island becomes Negros Incorporada, that is, as Japan Inc., and lately South Korea Inc. is doing. Anything that comes out from these places are considered top-of-the line quality products.

In Negros's case, it might achieve the image that anything that emanates from the province is free from genetically modified polluted and truly organic-healthy, safe, and environment-friendly.

Please email comments to bqsanc@yahoo.com

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