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A few AVA team members have had the privilege of working with certified organic food brands and farms. Even for us, finding a clear definition what makes food organic in Canada wasn’t a straightforward experience.
So, we’re here to explore some of the most common questions we see and dispel some myths about all things organic.
Organic food is food grown with organic practices, without the use of the following:
Yes, certified organic foods by definition must be non-GMO foods. There is, also, a separate certification you can get for verifying that your food is non-GMO that does a thorough analysis of a company’s entire seed supply, farming process, storage, processing, and transport. In order to be certified, organic foods must be over 95%+ organic ingredients, and non-GMO foods must be 99.1%+ non-GMO ingredients. The most popular label you’ll see is from the Non-GMO Project.
No! This is an important differentiation. Natural food is not heavily regulated, and only applies to food that does not contain added colour, flavours, or synthetic substances. So, all certified organic foods are natural, but not all natural foods are organic.
Organic foods may be more nutritious, and generally contain higher levels of antioxidants (source) and micronutrients (source).
Organic food is often fresher, because it doesn’t use preservatives that make it last longer (the shelf life of organic food may be shorter).
No, not always. Due to the nature of the shorter shelf life, it is more likely that the organic options in your store are local. However, there are no specific rules that certifying bodies look at for distance to end consumer. There is, however, a separate certification you can get to verify that your food is grown locally. For instance, in BC, we have the Buy BC program (free for producers).
Technically, this is not always true!
Certifications are issued by a regulatory body. In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is the primary federal regulatory body that oversees the Canada Organic Regime (COR) across food, seed, and feed. Each province, like in BC, has its own provincial regulatory bodies as well, like the BC Certified Organic Program (BCCOP).
Farmers and brands must go through a process with these organizations to get audited and approved. Then, they have to pay for the certification in addition to maintaining annual dues. A food brand, for example, must attain, pay, and maintain organic certification across each product, since the ingredients may be sourced differently from product to product and batch to batch.
There are some constraints for smaller producers and brands that may abide by organic farming practices, but aren’t able to afford the fees. So, if you’re supporting smaller, local producers, you can always visit their farm and ask them about their farming practices and do your own audit.
The complicated answer is “yes, it could be.” Hydroponics, like with the AVA Byte Smart Garden, is a method of growing plants without soil, primarily in water.
Certification of organic hydroponics is a heavily contested topic and has not yet been formalized by third party certifying agents in Canada. In Canada, hydroponics and aeroponics are not allowed to be labeled and sold as organic as non-soil based growing does not fulfill minimum soil requirements. However, Canada did introduce a new aquaculture regulation in 2019 that allows for the certification of organic aquaculture products.
In 2021, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has only recently allowed certifying hydroponic farming operations as eligible under the National Organic Program (NOP). (Source)
However, organic hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic growers use organic seeds, nutrients (sometimes even fish waste), and avoid synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
Here are some certifications you can look for on the packaging or sticker label of your produce. You may see different variations based on where you live:
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