The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) uses a risk-based approach to verify that imported and domestically produced products meet Canadian standards and regulations. CFIA compliance and enforcement actions occur all along the supply chain and involve numerous stakeholders and jurisdictions.
On this page
- How to know if a product can be marketed as organic in Canada
- File a complaint related to the Canada Organic Regime
- Compliance and enforcement activities
- List of cancelled, suspended and fraudulent certifications or certification bodies
How to know if a product can be marketed as organic in Canada
There are 3 ways foods can be marketed as organic in Canada. Certificates issued under by any other organic regulatory system are not valid.
Option 1: Product certified by a CFIA accredited certification body
If the product is certified by a CFIA accredited certificate body, it is valid when:
- it is certified to one of the following Canadian Organic Standards:
- CAN/CGSB 32.310
- CAN/CGSB-32.311
- CAN/CGSB-32.312
- the product is listed on the certificate or it's addendum
- the certificate is within its validity period
If this criterion is met, the product is valid for marketing as organic in Canada.
For more information on validity periods, consult Canada Organic Regime import requirements.
Option 2: Product certified under Canada's existing organic equivalency arrangements
Countries with valid equivalency arrangements with Canada are Costa Rica, the European Union Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
Products not included within the scope of these arrangements may be certified under the United-States Canada equivalency arrangement. See option 3 for more information.
If the product is certified by the certification body of a country with a Canadian organic equivalency arrangement, it is valid when:
- the product originates from the country that certified it as organic
- the product is covered under the scope of the arrangement
- the product is listed on the certificate or it's addendum
- the certificate is within its validity period
- it lists the corresponding standard on the certificate:
- Costa Rica: National Organic Production Regulations of Costa Rica
- European Union: Regulation (EU) 848/2018
- Japan: Japanese Agricultural Standard for organic (JAS)
- Mexico: Organic Products Law (LPO)
- South Korea: Korean Organic Food Act
- Switzerland: Swiss Organic Farming Ordinance
- Taiwan: Organic Agriculture Promotion Act
- United Kingdom:
- Retained Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007
- (EC) No. 889/2008, (EC)
- No. 1235/2008, and
- Organic Products Regulation 2009.
If this criterion is met, the product is valid for marketing as organic in Canada.
For more information on validity periods, consult Canada Organic Regime import requirements.
Option 3: Product certified under the United-States Canada equivalency arrangement
Products not included within the scope of the equivalency arrangements in option 2 may be certified under the United-States Canada equivalency arrangement.
If the product is certified under the United-States Canada equivalency arrangement, it is valid when:
- it is certified by a certification body accredited by the United States National Organic Program
- it lists the following attestation statement on the certificate:
Certified in accordance with the terms of the US-Canada Organic Equivalency Arrangement
- it lists the corresponding standard on the certificate: USDA Organic Regulations 7 CFR Part 205
- the product is covered under the scope of the arrangement
- the product is listed on the certificate or it's addendum
- the certificate is within its validity period
If this criterion is met, the product is valid for marketing as organic in Canada.
For more information on validity periods, consult Canada Organic Regime import requirements.
File a complaint related to the Canada Organic Regime
Any attempt to sell a non-organic product as organic is considered a violation of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations and is subject to CFIA enforcement actions.
Complaints can be filed against any:
- any product with a suspected fraudulent organic claim sold in Canada
- any operator (company) holding certification under the Canada Organic Regime's scope
- CFIA designated conformity verification body
- CFIA accredited certification body
Complaints can also be filed against the Canada Organic Regime's team.
Compliance and enforcement activities
Regulated parties must comply with all applicable acts and regulations including those administered and enforced by the CFIA. Under the Canada Organic Regime the enforcement of Part 13 of the Safe Food For Canadians regulations is a shared responsibility.
The CFIA accredits and oversees the certification bodies based on the conformity verification bodies recommendations. The certification bodies verify the compliance with the Canadian Organic Standards of more than 8,000 certificate holders around the world.
Those who seek organic certification of their agriculture or aquaculture products or packaging and labelling activities must do so in accordance with Part 13 of the SFCR.
Both CFIA and the certification bodies protect consumers by maintaining the integrity of the Canada Organic Regime and the use of the organic claims and the Canada Organic Logo.
Enforcement by the certification bodies
CFIA accredited certification bodies enforce the CFIA organic regulations by:
- inspecting organic operations annually
- conducting unannounced inspections
- collecting samples to analyze for pesticides and other prohibited substances
- investigating alleged violations/complaints on behalf of the CFIA
- issuing nonconformity notices to operations when violations are found
- suspending or cancelling organic certification if organic operations fail to comply with the rules
Enforcement by the CFIA
The CFIA takes a risk-based approach to compliance management. When the CFIA identifies non-compliance with the legislation it administers and enforces, it has a number of tools it can use to respond. The Agency:
- oversees the conformity verification bodies and the certification bodies by conducting regular audits of their activities
- can suspend or terminate a conformity verification body designation
- can suspend or cancel certification body accreditation
- follows-up on complaints of potentially fraudulent activities and organic claims submitted to the CFIA
Control and enforcement actions can include product seizure and detention or fines. Consult Administrative Monetary Penalties for more information.
List of cancelled, suspended and fraudulent certifications or certification bodies
Since March 2011, the CFIA has posted certain data on its enforcement and compliance activities. This data includes the names of certification holders who have had their organic certification cancelled under the Canada Organic Regime.
Cancelled organic certifications
An operator with a cancelled organic certification listed in the table below cannot market the products listed on their certificate as organic. Any attempt to sell non-organic product as organic is considered a violation of the SFCR and is subject to CFIA enforcement actions.
Consult the list of cancelled organic certifications
Suspended and cancelled certification bodies
The CFIA has the authority to suspend the accreditation of a certification body if there is non-compliance with any provision of the Safe Food for Canadians Act and Safe food for Canadians Regulations, or ISO 17065 requirements.
Accreditation suspensions remain in effect until the required corrective actions are implemented and verified, or until the accreditation is cancelled.
Consult the list of suspended and cancelled certification bodies.
Fraudulent organic certificates
Falsification of organic certificates and use of falsified certificates in order to market non-organic product as organic is considered a violation of the SFCR and is subject to CFIA enforcement actions.
Consult the list of fraudulent organic certificates.
Fraudulent certificates are occasionally made using the names of certified operators or certification bodies without their consent. Certification bodies and operators should continue to guard against these practices and exercise caution when purchasing from suppliers.
In such circumstances, the operator and certification body are contacted to verify authenticity.