Add to favorites Examiner Bio

US and Canada sign organic equivalency agreement

Barbara Robinson (left), Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, and Jaspinder Komal, Director of the Agrifood Division
of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, shake hands after signing
the world's first organic equivalency agreement. (Photo: Holly Givens)

The United States and Canada signed the world’s first organic equivalency agreement in Chicago on June 17. The Massachusetts-based Organic Trade Association had a hand in the nearly two years of negotiations that brought about this agreement, as contractors to the association served as advisors to United States Department of Agriculture during the negotiation.

As a result of the agreement, trade between the two countries will continue without significant interruption when Canada’s national organic regulations go into effect June 30, 2009. Products that meet Canada’s new organic requirements will be accepted as organic in the United States, and vice versa. Producers who want to sell across the border will not have to learn a new set of standards, although growers will want to read the government information, especially the few exceptions concerning hydroponics, aeroponics and the use of sodium nitrate.

Kathleen Merrigan, former Tufts University professor and now Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, heralded the signing during her keynote address. “The two countries, in the end, have pretty much the same goal,” she said. “This is truly a historic achievement.” The United States and Canada are the world’s largest trading partners. USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service office in Ottawa estimates that more than 80 percent of Canada's organic consumption comes from imports, and approximately 75 percent of those imports come from the United States.

What does that mean for shoppers in the Boston area? Given the proximity to agricultural areas in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, shoppers in the Northeast may see potatoes, apples, berries and other farm products with the Canadian organic logo alongside the “USDA Organic” seal. For shoppers across both countries, this means continued access to agricultural goods that have been verified as meeting strict organic farming and processing protocols, no matter where the goods originated.

For more info: 
USDA announcement
Canadian Food Safety Inspection Service announcement