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- Import declaration
- Certificate requirements
- Equivalency arrangements with other countries
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Import declaration
Anyone who imports organic products must:
- meet all import requirements for food, animal, and plants,
- be able to present a valid organic product certificate when requested at any time, including at the time of import, and
- submit a copy of the organic product certificate as part of your import declaration
The import admissibility requirements for all organic agricultural products, including seed and feed, are incorporated into the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS). There are specific codes to differentiate between organic and conventional products.
Online declarations
When submitting declarations online, importers must provide a digital copy (image) of the organic product certificate as part of their import declaration. The organic product certificate can be assigned a unique reference number which can then be used for any subsequent declaration of products covered under the same certificate.
Importers are responsible for ensuring the organic product certificate is still valid at the time of the shipment's arrival at the port of entry. The uploaded copy of the organic product certificate or unique reference number is a condition for admissibility. The shipment will be rejected automatically if the certificate or number is not provided. Importers who declare a copy of the organic product certificate or number will not encounter any delays in the release of their shipment.
Certificate requirements
The organic product certificate must be issued by a certification body that is accredited by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), or by an accredited/approved certification body recognized under an existing organic equivalency arrangement between Canada and a foreign country.
The organic product certificate must:
- be issued by the certification body that certified the product as organic,
- specify the standard to which the products are certified,
- list the date on which the certification was granted,
- be declared in the integrated import declaration (IID) at most 18 months after the date on which the certification was granted, and
- include a list of the certified products covered by the certificate, identifying them by their specific product name and any trademarks under which they are marketed.
- Product names on the certificates should coincide with the label and shipping bill, as well as the import and export documentation.
These requirements are applicable for all organic product certificates, regardless of the product's origin or the standard it is certified to.
Additional requirements may apply if the organic product is certified under an equivalency arrangement. Some require an export certificate from the same certification body that issued the organic product certificate.
Equivalency arrangements with other countries
Depending on the equivalency arrangement, the export certification may be required to attest to the product's compliance with the terms.
Importers and brokers are not required to upload the export certificate but should keep it on file for 5 years as per the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, Section 357.4. The exporting certificates are subject to verification by the CFIA.
Learn more about organic equivalency arrangements.
| Country | Accreditation body | Certificate requirements | Export certificates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | National Phytosanitary Service (SFE) | No additional requirements. | Export certificate issued by the State Phytosanitary Service. |
| European Union | European Union (EU) |
Certificate is called "Organic Operator Certificate" No additional requirements. |
No transaction certificate required. |
| Japan | Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) | No additional requirements. |
Export certificate issued by Japanese registered certification body. Must attest to the product's compliance with the terms of the equivalency arrangement. |
| Mexico | Service for the National Health for Food Safety and Food Quality (SENASICA) | No additional requirements. |
Export Certificate issued by SENASICA approved certification body. Must attest to the product's compliance with the terms of the equivalency arrangement. |
| South Korea | National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS) | No additional requirements. |
CFIA export certificate for organic processed foods issued by a NAQS accredited certification body. Must attest to the product's compliance with the terms of the equivalency arrangement. |
| Switzerland | Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) | No additional requirements. | No transaction certificate required. |
| Taiwan | Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) | Organic certificates are valid for 3 years. |
Certificate for transactions of organic products issued by an AFA supervised certification body. Must attest to the product's compliance with the terms of the equivalency arrangement. |
| United Kingdom | Department for Environment, Food Rural Affairs (DEFRA) | No additional requirements. |
Export organic certificate issued by the DEFRA approved certification body. Must attest to the product's compliance with the terms of the equivalency arrangement. |
| United States | United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) |
Certificate is called "Certificate of Organic Operation" Must bear the statement: "Certified in accordance with the terms of the US-Canada Organic Equivalency Arrangement" The certificate of organic operation addendum must be issued directly by the certification body, not through the National Organic Program Organic Integrity Database system. |
No transaction certificate required. |
Latest updates
January 30, 2025
Upcoming changes to the import requirements for organic products
The CFIA is working to strengthen import controls for organic foods through a 2-phase project.
Phase 1 of the project was completed in November 2024. This phase:
- introduced new other government department codes into AIRS, and
- required importers and brokers to declare whether they have a copy of the organic products certificate in their possession.
The implementation of this first phase is complete and CFIA is now ready to proceed with Phase 2.
Beginning May 26, 2025, importers/brokers will be required to provide a digital copy (image) of the organic product certificate(s) as part of their integrated import declaration (IID) which is the electronic message sent through the Canada Border Service Agency's Single Window Initiative for import admissibility declaration. They will assign a unique reference number for each uploaded organic product certificate. The unique reference number can be used as part of the submission when completing the declaration in the integrated import declaration. This will allow importers and brokers to use the same unique reference number for multiple shipments. Declarations may also include multiple unique reference numbers as required.
Once this measure comes into effect, failure to upload a copy of the organic product certificate or a unique reference number (where the certificate was already provided in a previous declaration) will result in a reject message until the organic product certificate digital copy or unique reference number is provided. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the newly added organic products in AIRS and ensure compliance.
If you have any questions, please contact the Canada Organic Regime team at OPR-RPB@inspection.gc.ca.
April 5, 2023
The import and admissibility requirements for all the end uses of organic feed products from chapters 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 32, 33 and 35 were incorporated into AIRS, in March 2023, as per part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
The new other government department (OGD) codes will differentiate organic products from conventional products. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the new codes in AIRS and comply with the import requirements.
At this time, importers/brokers will be required to confirm possession of the organic product certificate at the time of import in the Integrated Import Declaration (IID).
Importers will be notified once all import requirements are incorporated in AIRS. From that time onwards importers of organic commodities will be required to submit a digital copy of the organic product certificate when declaring organic products online using the Integrated Import Declaration system.
If you have any questions, please contact the Canada Organic Regime team at OPR-RPB@inspection.gc.ca.
January 30, 2023
The import and admissibility requirements for all the end uses of organic Seed products from chapters 7, 9, 10 and 12 were incorporated into AIRS, in January 2023, as per part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations .
The new other government department (OGD) codes will differentiate organic products from conventional products. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the new codes in AIRS and comply with the import requirements.
At this time, importers/brokers will be required to confirm possession of the organic product certificate at the time of import in the Integrated Import Declaration (IID).
Importers will be notified once all import requirements are incorporated in AIRS. From that time onwards importers of organic commodities will be required to submit a digital copy of the organic product certificate when declaring organic products online using the Integrated Import Declaration system.
If you have any questions, please contact the Canada Organic Regime team at OPR-RPB@inspection.gc.ca.
August 11, 2022
The import and admissibility requirements for all the end uses of organic dairy products from chapters 4, 9, 18, 19, 21, 22 and 35 were incorporated into AIRS, as per part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
The new other government department (OGD) codes will differentiate organic products from conventional products. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the new codes in AIRS and comply with the import requirements.
At this time, importers/brokers will be required to confirm possession of the organic product certificate at the time of import in the Integrated Import Declaration (IID).
Importers will be notified once all import requirements are incorporated in AIRS. From that time onwards importers of organic commodities will be required to submit a digital copy of the organic product certificate when declaring organic products online using the Integrated Import Declaration system.
If you have any questions, please contact the Canada Organic Regime team at OPR-RPB@inspection.gc.ca.
July 7, 2021
On June 30, 2021, the import and admissibility requirements for organic grain products from chapter 10 for all the remaining end-uses were incorporated into AIRS, as per part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the new codes and end-uses in AIRS and to comply with the import requirements.
At this time, importers/brokers will be required to confirm possession of the organic product certificate at the time of import in the Integrated Import Declaration (IID).
Importers will be notified once all import requirements are incorporated in Automated Import Reference System (AIRS). From that time onwards importers of organic commodities will be required to submit a digital copy of the organic product certificate when declaring organic products online using the Integrated Import Declaration system.
If you have any questions, please contact the Canada Organic Regime team at OPR-RPB@inspection.gc.ca.
June 16, 2021
On June 10, 2021, new harmonized system/other government department (HS/OGD) extension codes for organic grain products from chapter 10 with the end use "Human consumption" were published in AIRS. Additionally, the organic import admissibility requirements for these products have been incorporated into AIRS as per part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
At this time, importers/brokers will be required to confirm possession of the organic product certificate at the time of import in the Integrated Import Declaration (IID).
Importers will be notified once all import requirements are incorporated in Automated Import Reference System (AIRS). From that time onwards importers of organic commodities will be required to submit a digital copy of the organic product certificate when declaring organic products online using the Integrated Import Declaration system.
The new OGD codes will differentiate organic products from conventional products. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the new codes in AIRS and comply with the import requirements.
December 24, 2020
On December 16, 2020, new HS/OGD extension codes for organic processed products from chapter 20 were published in AIRS. Additionally, the organic import admissibility requirements for these products have been incorporated into AIRS as per part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
At this time, importers/brokers will be required to confirm possession of the organic product certificate at the time of import in the Integrated Import Declaration (IID).
Importers will be notified once all import requirements are incorporated in Automated Import Reference System (AIRS). From that time onwards importers of organic commodities will be required to submit a digital copy of the organic product certificate when declaring organic products online using the Integrated Import Declaration system.
The new OGD codes will differentiate organic products from conventional products. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the new codes and comply with the import requirements.
September 16, 2020
On August 27, 2020, new HS/OGD extension codes for organic eggs and shell egg products were published in AIRS. Additionally, the organic import admissibility requirements for these products have been incorporated into AIRS as per part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
Importers will be notified once all import requirements are incorporated in Automated Import Reference System (AIRS). From that time onwards importers of organic commodities will be required to submit a digital copy of the organic product certificate when declaring organic products online using the Integrated Import Declaration system.
The new OGD codes will differentiate organic products from conventional products. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the new codes and comply with the import requirements.
September 8, 2020
On June 10, 2019, the new OGD extensions codes for organic fresh fruits and vegetables were implemented in the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) database. The list of new OGD extensions codes was shared on May 22, 2019 with stakeholders prior to AIRS publication.
Importers will be notified once all import requirements are incorporated in Automated Import Reference System (AIRS). From that time onwards importers of organic commodities will be required to submit a digital copy of the organic product certificate when declaring organic products online using the Integrated Import Declaration system.
Please continue to use AIRS to verify the import admissibility requirements for fresh fruit and vegetables, including any organic requirements.
April 22, 2020
On April 16, 2020, new HS/OGD extension codes for organic honey and maple products were published in AIRS. Additionally, the organic import admissibility requirements for these products have been incorporated into AIRS as per part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
Importers will be notified once all import requirements are incorporated in Automated Import Reference System (AIRS). From that time onwards importers of organic commodities will be required to submit a digital copy of the organic product certificate when declaring organic products online using the Integrated Import Declaration system.
The new OGD codes will differentiate organic products from conventional products. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the new codes and comply with the import requirements.
April 7, 2020
On March 4, 2020, new HS/OGD extension codes for organic seeds and grains from chapter 7 were published in AIRS. The chapter covers dried leguminous vegetables. Organic stakeholders were informed on February 21, 2020 prior to publication.
The new OGD codes will differentiate organic products from conventional products. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the new codes and comply with the import requirements.
The list of the new OGD codes for organic seeds and grains from chapter 7 are available in the table.
June 10, 2019
On June 10, 2019, the new OGD extension codes for organic fresh fruits and vegetables have been implemented in the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) database. The list of new OGD codes was shared on May 22, 2019 with stakeholders prior to AIRS publication.
The new OGD codes will differentiate organic products from conventional products. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the new codes and comply with the import requirements.
The list of the new OGD extension codes for organic fresh fruits and vegetables is available in the table below.
April 17, 2019
The organic import requirements in part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations will be incorporated into the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS).
To implement the import requirements into AIRS, CFIA will use a phased-in approach which will involve creating new commodity identifiers (OGD extension codes) for organic products by commodity type.
The fresh fruits and vegetables will be the first commodity group to be implemented starting Spring 2019. CFIA will provide detailed information on each phase throughout the implementation process.
We encourage you to sign up for AIRS email notification and visit this page regularly for updates.
More information
- Refer to the AIRS user's guide
- Familiarize yourself with the AIRS import requirements
- How to verify the legitimacy of organic product certificates
Contact us
If you have any questions, please contact the Canada Organic Regime team at OPR-RPB@inspection.gc.ca.