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Organic vs Certified Organic
Organic refers to the way in which plants are grown and processed. When a product is organic, the customer assumes that the plant/end product has no synthetic chemicals, fertilisers, pesticides, growth hormones or herbicides used, and that the plants or raw ingredients are not Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
The only way the consumer can be ensured that the plant/end product meets these rigorous standards are if it is guaranteed by an independent third party. That is why some companies go the full and expensive way of getting their product certified as an organic plant/product. This gives the consumer a full and complete guarantee that the product they are using is organic.
Organic Certification of an end product is a whole systems approach where the soil in which the raw materials grow, the subsequent harvesting, processing & handling are all certified under rigorous organic standards by a third party.
Seller not certified
There are at least two ways of selling a Certified Organic product in Australia.
The company selling is not certified but they use the supplier’s certification.
Sometimes the wholesaler or retailer does not have to be certified, to sell a certified organic product. Wholesalers or retailers purchase a Certified Organic end product from a supplier & on-sell that product as certified organic, using the certification of the parent company. This can only be done if there is no further processing, handling or repacking of the product by the wholesaler. Most often companies buy products from overseas that have US or European certifications & on-sell that product in Australia. There is no ongoing audit process after it reaches Australia. Anybody can do this.
The company selling re-certifies as organic
Some raw ingredients are not available in Australia, which necessitates importing the ingredient or product. In this case, the manufacturer or wholesaler or retailer after importing, gets it re-certified by an Australian certifier.
The Australian company then goes through a rigourous process of auditing from an independent, locally approved certifier, which is followed up by ongoing annual audits. The annual audit ensures that the organic integrity is not compromised in any in-house processing & also includes review & reconciliation of trail of goods brought in & subsequently sold as organic.
The certifying body gives the company a unique number & allows them to use their certifying logo on their product. The certification is valid only for one year & every year after an annual audit the certification is renewed.
Why we are different
We decided to go all the way with certification. If Nature Shop imports a Certified Organic product, we ensure that the product is also certified in Australia, as a guarantee to our customers that there is a local body certifying the product. If we manufacture a product using organic ingredients that are locally available, we ensure they are certified locally.
We do not market any other branded products or on-sell certifications of other companies. We source the raw ingredients directly from organic famers or co-ops thereby ensuring the integrity of the product.
All our certified organic products are certified by Australian Certified Organic.
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