Section 4:

General standards for organically produced products

(1)     Production shall address measures for the provision of and improvement of landscape and biodiversity and must contribute to the equilibrium of agricultural production systems by providing for the nutrient requirements of crops and by improving the soil's organic matter.

(2)     Synthetic chemicals (including pesticides and fertilisers) are not permitted other than those allowed by these standards.

(3)     All materials and/or the products produced from genetically modified organisms, with the exception of certain veterinary medicinal products, are not compatible with the principles of organic production and therefore are not accepted under these standards.

(4)     The use of irradiation is not allowed in production and processing.

(5)     A quality and safety management system shall be an integral part of the organic pro­duction system.

(6)     Inspection and certification shall be carried out before a product can be regarded as being organic.

(7)     A product cannot be certified as organic unless the operation has been subjected to a conversion period:  Provided that --

(a)       the length of the conversion periods shall be as indicated in these standards;

(b)       a product entering the conversion period is subject to all the relevant stan­dards in these standards from the onset of the conversion period;

(c)       the start of the conversion period shall be calculated from the date of last application of unapproved farm inputs:  Provided that it can be demonstrated that the rele­vant standards in these standards have been met from that date;

(d)       a full conversion period is not required where the relevant standards in these standards have been met for at least three years and where it can be verified through various means;  and

(e)       inspection shall be carried out during the conversion period.

(f)        in the event of a government programme for the rehabilitation of soils, there can be retroactive recognition of conversion during the programme, provided that soils had only been treated with substances for use in soil fertilizing and conditioning recognised in these standards (c.f. Annexure II). 

(8)     The whole farm, including livestock, shall be converted to organic management practices over time, as set out in these standards.

          There should be a conversion plan for converting the whole farm, which should include the steps and approximate timeframe for the conversion, which does not exceed five years.

(a)     During the conversion period, split production (when some farm activities are either fully organic or organic-in-conversion) must be strictly controlled, such that organic and organic-in-conversion lands, animals, storage facilities and any other parts of the operation shall be clearly and continuously separated from conventional lands, animals, storage facilities and other parts of conventional operation, and shall be available for inspection as such;

1. Parallel production (when the same species of either non-perennial plants or animals are managed as some combination of conventional, organic and organic-in-conversion) is strongly discouraged, and shall be permitted only under very strict rules and during farm conversion:

1. the production shall be from different varieties that are clearly identifiable and grown in separate areas;

(ii)         appropriate measures are taken to ensure the permanent separation of products obtained from each unit throughout the production system (including in storage);  and

(iii)        the producer must keep records of the exact quantities harvested to­gether with any other particular distinguishing features such as qua­lity, colour, weight, etc.;

(c)     means of production such as tractors and implements shall not be used on both organic and conventional production lands unless they have been tho­roughly cleaned and disinfected before moving from the conventional lands to the organic or organic under conversion lands;

(d)     converted land and animals shall not be switched back and forth between organic, organic in conversion and conventional production;

(e)     conventionally produced animals shall be from different species, and shall be reared and housed separately;  and

(f)      prior permission may be granted by Ecocert-Afrisco for conventionally produced animals of different species to use the same pasture/grazing:  Provided further that --

(i)         the conventionally produced animals are under extensive husbandry;  and

1. the conventionally produced animals are not present on the pasture/grazing at the same time as the organically produced animals;

(iii)       the allowed number of organic and non-organic animals on the pasture shall be limited such that the total amount of Nitrogen per year shall not exceed 170 Kg/Ha.  Annexure VI shall be used to determine the livestock density equivalents.

(g)     Conventionally produced perennial plants may be of the same varieties:  Pro­vided further that --

(i)         the production in question forms part of a conversion plan to organic production in a period which may not exceed a maximum of five years;

(ii)        appropriate measures are taken to ensure the permanent separation of products obtained from each unit;  and

(iii)       the producer must keep records of the exact quantities harvested to­gether with any other particular distinguishing features such as qua­lity, colour, weight, etc.;

1. All inputs (products and/or substances) into organic agriculture must be either certified as organic by an approved certifying organisation, or inputs of non-organic origin accepted as inputs into organic agriculture, in terms of these standards.  Such inputs must:

1. be approved by Ecocert-Afrisco before use

1. if not certified organic, be permitted in these standards (see Annexures II, III, V, and VII) under the stated conditions

1. be evaluated constantly (together with farm practices) in terms of the criteria in Annexure I.

(10)   Genetic engineering is excluded from organic production and processing:

1. the deliberate use or negligent introduction of GMOs or their derivatives to organic farming systems or products is prohibited.  This shall include animals, seed, propagation material, and farm inputs such as fertilizers, soil conditioners, vaccines or crop protection materials;

(b)       the use of GMOs or their derivatives is prohibited.  This shall include animals, seed and farm inputs such as fertilizers, soil conditioners, vaccines or crop protection products;

(c)       the use of GMO seeds, pollen, transgene plants or plant material is prohibited;

(d)       organic processed products shall not use ingredients, additives or processing aids derived from GMO’s;

(e)       inputs, processing aids and ingredients shall be traced back one step in the biological chain to the direct source organism from which they are produced to verify that they are not derived from GMOs.

(f)        contamination of organic product by GMOs that results from circumstances beyond the control of the operator may alter the organic status of the operation and / or product.

(g)       on farms with split (including parallel) production, the use of GMOs is not permitted in any production activity on the farm.