What do organic certification organisations actually do?
Certification is a long process and often takes over 1 year for approval. Firstly, the farmers have to wait for 2 years without using any chemicals on their farm to even be considered for certification. The farmer is required to meet strict criteria and standards such as being a specified distance from non-organic farms, pay an annual fee whilst meeting strict criteria and standards based on organic principles. Farmers are also required to undergo random inspection which frequently involves laboratory tests, to test for pesticide traces. All of this ensures that the certified product you buy really is organic.
