The term organic has a specific legal definition that has been developed to protect consumers from exploitation.  However, many eBay sellers are simply using it as a marketing term or using it on products that are not certified as organic.  We have written this brief guide to give customers an overview of what to look for when buying organic products on eBay.

The process of organic certification is intended to achieve two goals:

1. To ensure that the producer (farmer or processor) is using organic techniques and adhering to the minimum organic requirements set out by the EU
2. To ensure that organically labelled products sold by a retailer actually come from an organic source and that there is paperwork to prove this

The latter of these goals is very important as there are often several companies involved in the supply chain (farmer, processor, manufacturer, exporter, importer, retailer) and without adequate checks in place, there is a risk that non-organic products may be introduced into the supply chain and labelled as organic.

To protect consumers, the EU has an organic certification process in place to ensure that products that are marketed as organic are in fact organic.  The organic importing requirements do vary depending on where the organic product is grown, but generally the process for ensuring that organic products are actually organic is as follows:

1. A producer (farmer or processor) is assessed by an organic certification body to determine whether their products are organic.  If they are, then the producer gets an organic certificate which is valid for 12 months.
2. If a UK retailer wants to import organic products from outside of the EU, the retailer needs to be organically certified by one of the UK organic certification bodies e.g. the Soil Association.
3. The UK retailer needs to apply for an organic import certificate from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).  This last for 12 months and a separate certificate is needed for each producer.
4. For every wholesale order that an importer makes, the producer’s certification body issues an organic certificate of inspection.  This accompanies each order into the UK.
5. When the order enters the UK, the UK Port Health Authority will examine the goods to see if they match up with the certificate of inspection.  If they do, then they will endorse the organic certificate.
6. The retailer is then free to sell the products in the EU and market them as organic.  To allow customers to check whether a product is organic, the retailer is legally obliged to display the code of their organic certification body on all product labels so that customers know who to contact for confirmation that the product they have bought has been certified organic, should they wish to do so.  There are several UK certification bodies each with their own code (see below).  The contact details of the certification bodies can be easily found through Google.
7. Every year the retailer's organic certification body will inspect the retailer and check all organic and financial paperwork to make sure that the same quantity of organic goods has been bought and sold.

Organic Farmers and Growers Ltd  (GB organic certification 2)
Scottish Organic Producers Association  (GB organic certification 3)
Organic Food Federation  (GB organic certification 4)
Soil Association Certification Ltd  (GB organic certification 5)
Bio-Dynamic Agricultural Association  (GB organic certification 6)
Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association  (GB organic certification 7)
Organic Trust Limited  (GB organic certification 9)
Quality Welsh Food Certification Ltd  (GB organic certification 13)
Ascisco Ltd  (GB organic certification 15)

If a product hasn't been certified as organic then no reference can be made to the word "organic" by the seller when describing the product.  This to prevent ambiguous statements being used that could lead customers into believing that a product is organic e.g. terms such as "organic origins", "organically sourced" and "sourced from organic suppliers" .  eBay are currently reviewing their listing policy guidelines with the intention of clamping down on sellers who are mislabelling products as organic.  These listing include the following:

1. Products that are organically certified in countries outside of the EU and meet the local organic requirements but not necessarily the EU organic requirements. As these products don't have any organic paperwork for them to be sold in the EU, there is no proof that they are even the products that are being advertised.
   
2. Products that are not organic and the seller is using the term organic as a general marketing term, in the same way that “green”, “eco-friendly” and “wholesome” are often used. e.g. yaeyama chlorella is not organic but is marketed by some sellers as organic
3. Products that used to be organically certified but no longer meet the organic requirements.  A good example of this is Hawaiian Spirulina.  There is only one manufacturer of Hawaiian Spirulina (Cyanotech) and they haven’t been organically certified since 2005.  Yet a quick ebay search on “organic hawaiian spirulina” tends to generate a fair few hits.

If you buy a product that doesn’t have an organic certification code (e.g. GB organic certification 5) then it isn’t organically certified.  A seller may tell you that a product is organic but without an organic certificate they are in no position to be able to guarantee this.  They may claim that it is certified by NOP or some other body, but unless it has a UK certification code you don’t know whether it meets EU guidelines and more importantly whether it is actually the product that it is claimed to be.

If you have any questions please contact us.

Rainforest Foods.