Are you getting genuine “organic” products? The Importance of Buying Certified Organic — My Dad’s Honey Echuca

These are two examples of Australian Certified Organic bodies, please note there are more than two in Australia.

Misleading Labeling and No National Standards for Organic Products in Australia 

In Australia, the organic industry has been calling for mandatory regulation to prevent misleading labelling, but the federal government has yet to acted. This has led to a lack of consistency in the definition of “organic” in Australia, and a third of consumers have been misled into buying products that are not certified organic.

According to Australian Organic Limited in a recent news, the peak industry body for the organic sector in Australia, Australia is the only developed country in the world without consistent domestic regulation for organic products. This means that anyone can claim their products are organic without any verification or certification.

The Lack of National Standards for Organic Products in Australia

In addition to the lack of consistent regulation, there is a definition difference between certified organic and organic in Australia that does not exist anywhere else in the world. In the US or Germany, for instance, if a consumer asks for an organic product, they will get a certified organic product. However, this is not the case in Australia. According to Niki Ford, the Chief Executive of Australian Organic Limited, this difference has led to confusion among consumers, who are not sure what they are buying.