Prior to 2002 private and state agencies certified
organic practices and national certification requirements did not exist. As a
result there were no guarantees that 'organic' meant the same thing from state
to state, or even locally from certifier to certifier. Consumers and producers
of organic products therefore jointly sought to establish national standards to
clear up confusion in the marketplace, and to protect the trade against
mislabelling or fraud.
As required by the Organic Foods Production Act
(OFPA), the National Organic Standards (part of the National Organic Program,
NOP) became effective on 21 October 2002. OFPA itself was adopted in 1990 to
establish national standards for the production and handling of foods labelled
as 'organic'.
Today organizations that are fully NOP-compliant
(certified) may label their products or ingredients as organic, and may use the
'USDA Organic Seal' on organic products in the United States, irrespective of
whether they are produced domestically or are imported. As a result of NOP
there is therefore a single national
label in the United States to designate organic products, thereby
avoiding the label confusion that exists in Europe. A list of accredited
certifying agents can be found on the USDA (NOP) website www.ams.usda.gov/nop and on www.ioia.net -
Independent Organic Inspectors Association.
Like the European Union the US also requires a
control or transaction/export certificate for each shipment, showing date,
weight/quantity, and origin. However, unlike to EU, NOP does not require the
'master certificate' for the processing unit referred to in 03.02.08.
The North American market for organic coffee is
served mainly by importers who handle conventional products as well, although
some specialize in organics entirely. As with the trade in specialty coffee
generally, it is often difficult to convince an importer to take a container
load of an unknown coffee and the introduction of new coffees can therefore be a
lengthy and tedious process. However, the US market is showing attractive growth
and offers good potential - see 03.02.11.
Information on trade in organic products can also be
found at www.ota.com,
the website of the Organic Trade Association - look for
about/sectorcouncils/coffee/index.html.