On 15 December 2011, MAF released a press release which reported that six samples of organic feijoas included in the Food Residue Surveillance Programme (FRSP) were found to contain residues of pesticides that are not permitted to be used in organic production. MAF have subsequently confirmed that the feijoas were certified organic. The name of the certifier is yet to be disclosed.
BioGro’s CEO Dr Michelle Glogau says “We are in communications with the Commerce Commission to establish whether any of the products are BioGro-certified. If this is the case, we will undertake a thorough investigation to establish how this has come about and apply appropriate sanctions.”
If the products are not BioGro-certified, BioGro will pursue the outcome of the Commerce Commission investigation since these situations are an opportunity for the organic industry as a whole to review its practices and look for ways to prevent the incidence of residues in the future.
BioGro prides itself on having a robust and thorough certification process. BioGro-certified producers must undergo an annual renewal process which includes an office assessment of their organic management plan and an on-site audit to verify that their practices are compliant with BioGro’s Organic Standards.
BioGro has a well established testing programme for export produce and a random testing programme for BioGro-certified produce in the domestic market.
Dr Glogau confirms that “in addition to the annual audit of our certified organic producers we also carry out audits on a random and targeted selection of producers with little or no warning. These extra audits provide an opportunity for us to check organic management practices at a different time of the year from a producer’s planned audit.”
BioGro's insistence on its certified producers meeting the highest organic standards have been acknowledged by the European Commission which recently granted BioGro ‘EU certification equivalence’. This means BioGro-certified products from listed countries are able to enter Europe without further documentation. BioGro is one of only 30 agencies worldwide to have been granted such equivalence to date.
Dr Glogau insists that “we will be stepping up our testing programme on products sold domestically as an additional disincentive for fraudulent practices and as an additional assurance to consumers that BioGro-certified produce can be trusted as authentic.”
