B.C. government clamping down on organic claims

Farmers in British Columbia will soon need to be more careful about claiming their products are organic.

A new strategy by the British Columbia government aims to eliminate any false organic claims by local farmers that aren't certified, and also streamlining the provincial certification system.

According to a National Post article, only goods that have been certified by a provincial or national certification program will be allowed to be labelled as organic.

“People at farmers markets and shopping at the store want some certainty that the same standards are being observed by everyone who is marketing products as organic," says Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick.

Rather than take the steps to become certified by a certification group recognized by the federal government, some farmers today call themselves "uncertified organic" instead.

The new regulations will mean that, in order to legitimately label a product as organic, farmers will no longer be able to bypass the verification process.

Read the full story here.