United Nations Food and Agriculture International Conference on Organization of the Federation of Trade and United Nations Organic Agriculture Development Movements Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture Volume 1 Background papers of the International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture, Vol. 1 93 Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture, Vol. 1 94 Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture Volume 1 Background papers of the International Task Force on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture Joy Michaud, Els Wynen and Diane Bowen (eds) An initiative of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Bonn Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture, Vol. 1 95 Note Published by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Palais des Nations, 8-14, Av. de la Paix,1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Tel: +41-22-917-5809; Fax: +41-22-917-0051 email: [email protected] website: www.unctad.org Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy Tel: +39-06-570-51; Fax: +39-06-570-53152 email: [email protected] website: www.fao.org International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Charles-de-Gaulle Str. 5, 53113 Bonn, Germany Tel: +49-228-92650-10; Fax: +49-228-92650-99 email: headoffice.ifoam.org website: www.ifoam.org The views in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) or the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). 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UNCTAD/DITC/TED/2005/4 ISBN 3-934055-47-8 © 2004 UNCTAD, FAO & IFOAM Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture, Vol. 1 96ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface Discussion Papers • Overview of Current Status of Standards and Conformity Assessment Systems ..................................................................... 1 Ken Commins • Current Mechanisms that Enable International Trade in Organic Products ........................................................................ 25 Diane Bowen • Existing and Potential Models and Mechanisms for Harmonization, Equivalency and Mutual Recognition .............. 47 Sasha Courville and David Crucefix •Impact of Organic Guarantee Systems on Production and Trade in Organic Products ........................................................ 105 Els Wynen Report of First ITF Meeting ....................................................... 211 Nuremberg, Germany, 18 February, 2003 Report of Second ITF Meeting ................................................... 215 Geneva, Switzerland, 20-21 October, 2003 Terms of Reference of the ITF .................................................... 229 Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture, Vol. 1 97iii PREFACE The organic market is confronted with hundreds of private sector standards and governmental regulations, two international standards for organic agriculture (Codex Alimentarius and IFOAM) and a host of conformity assessment and accreditation systems. Mutual recognition and equivalency among these systems is extremely limited. Discussions in a number of forums including FAO, IFOAM and UNCTAD, have indicated that the plethora of certification requirements and regulations are considered to be a major obstacle for a continuous and rapid development of the organic sector, especially for producers in developing countries. In 2001, IFOAM, FAO and UNCTAD decided to join forces to find solutions to this problem. Together they organized the Conference on International Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture, which took place in Nuremberg, Germany on 18-19 February, 2002. This event was the first of its kind, as the partnership between the private organic community and United Nations institutions offered a forum for public and private discussions. One of the key recommendations of the Conference was that a multi-stakeholder Task Force, comprised of representatives of governments, FAO, UNCTAD and IFOAM, should be established in order to elaborate practical proposals and solutions. In response, the International Task Force (ITF) on Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture was launched and held its first meeting on 18 February 2003 in Nuremberg, Germany. At this meeting the ITF agreed on its Terms of Reference and a work plan for the first 18 months. The second meeting of the ITF was held on 20-21 October, 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland. Discussions centered around four background documents that reviewed the current situation in the sector and identified models and mechanisms for harmonization, equivalency, and mutual recognition. The discussion papers in this volume were prepared for the second meeting in 2003. The third meeting of the ITF was held on 17-19 November, 2004, in Rome, Italy, and focused on new discussion papers that identified potential short- Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture, Vol. 1 98iv term actions and long-term solutions. These papers will be published in a future volume of this series. This publication is a compilation of reports of the first two ITF meetings, the four discussion papers from the Geneva Meeting, and the Terms of Reference of the ITF. Together with the earlier publication, The Organic Guarantee System: the need and strategy for harmonisation and equivalence1, it provides the comprehensive record of the ITF. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the ITF for their enthusiastic participation as well as the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Government of Switzerland for their generous financial support of the ITF. ITF Steering Committee Ulrich Hoffmann, UNCTAD Sophia Twarog, UNCTAD Antonio Compagnoni, IFOAM Gunnar Rundgren, IFOAM Nadia El-Hage Scialabba, FAO Selma Doyran, Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Program 1 Published by IFOAM, FAO and UNCTAD, 2003. ISBN no. 3-934-055-23-0; 146 pages. Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture, Vol. 1 99v STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Ulrich Hoffmann Sophia Twarog United Nations Conference on Trade and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Development Trade, Environment and Development Trade, Environment and Development Branch (DITC) Branch (DITC) E.8002, Palais des Nations E.8034, Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Tel: +41-22-907-5780 Tel: + 41-22-907-5082 Fax: +41-22-917-0247 Fax: + 41-22-917-0247 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] website: www.unctad.org/trade_env website: www.unctad.org/trade_env Nadia El-Hage Scialabba Selma Doyran Inter-Departmental Working Group on Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Program Organic Agriculture Food and Nutrition Division Food and Agriculture Organization of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations United Nations Viala delle Terme di Caracalla Via delle Terme di Caracalla 00100 Rome, Italy 00100 Rome, Italy Tel: +39-06-5705-6729 Tel: +39-06-5705-5826 Fax: +39-06-5705-3369 Fax: +39-06-5705-4593 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] websites: www.fao.org/organicag website: www.codexalimentarius.net Antonio Compagnoni Gunnar Rundgren International Federation of Organic International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements Agriculture Movements Via Barozzi M3 Torfolk, Östra Skymnäs I-41058 Vignola (MO), Italy 684 95 Höje, Sweden Tel: +39-059-763956 Tel: +46-563-72345 Fax: +39-059-763056 Fax: +46-563-72066 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] website: www.grolink.se Secretariat Support: Diane Bowen Matthias Fecht Secretariat Coordinator (IFOAM) Secretariat Assistant (IFOAM) 9150 N. Santa Monica Blvd. Görrestr. 15 Milwaukee, WI, 53217 USA 53113 Bonn, Germany Tel: +1-414-352-5789 Tel: +49-228-926-5010 Fax: +1-253-669-7921 Fax: +49-228-926-5099 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] www.unctad.org/trade_env/itf-organic Harmonization and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture, Vol. 1 100vi Overview of Current Status of Standards and Conformity Assessment Systems Ken Commins International Organic Accreditation Service List of contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 2 2 Current Standards and Regulations ...................................................... 2 2.1 International Standards ...................................................................