Report Feasibility study organic bitter tea Cao Bang - Helvetas

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Feasibility Study Organic Bitter Tea in Cao Bang: 2007 maximum limits, exporters are required to obtain an import tolerance. It should be noted that the EU continues to lower the maximum limits of pesticide residues permitted in products (FAO, 2007). In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Environmental Department are responsible for establishing and testing residue limits. These limits are based on the Food Sanitation Law (FAO, 2007). 5.1.2. Product traceability In response to recent problems about food safety (e.g. mad cow disease) and global terrorism, many governments are increasing control over all stages of food production, processing and distribution to protect consumers against the biological, chemical and environmental contamination of food. Traceability (product tracing) is the ability to follow the movement of food through specified stages of production, processing and distribution. They also enable efficient recall in case of the products' contamination. Furthermore, they help determine the origin of a food safety problem, comply with legal requirements and meet consumers' expectations for the safety and quality of purchased products (FAO, 2007). The EU regulations on traceability entered into force in January 2005. In order to comply with these rules, it is important that EU importers identify the origin of products. As a consequence, the latter could require exporters to comply with traceability requirements even if the exporter in trading partner countries are not legally required to fulfil the traceability requirement imposed within the EU. No traceability requirements for exporters exist in Japan yet (FAO, 2007). 5.2. Organic regulation and procedures 5.2.1. EU organic regulations and procedures In 1991 the EU passed a regulation about organic farming. This regulation EEC Regulation 2092/91 contains the legal provisions regarding farming, labelling and monitoring of organic farming for the whole European Community. The Regulation provides the basic standard for organic plant and livestock production and, at the same time creates specific requirements regarding farming, processing and importation from third countries. All farms and processing units are submitted, at least once a year, to a programmed inspection. As well, unannounced random inspections are carried out. The costs of inspection and certification are to be paid by the company requesting the service. A European logo for organic products exists since February 2000. However, the use of this label is not mandatory and for now is still not commonly used. If an operator in a country outside the EU wants to export organic products to the EU, then a certification body (CB) must perform on-site inspections. In the case of Vietnam, where local organic certification bodies do not exist, an international certifier has to be selected. This could either be one based in Europe or one with a branch office in Vietnam. Currently, there is only one CB with an office in Vietnam, while several other CBs use local or regional inspectors. The EU does not have specific environmental or "low pesticide" food labels and regulations (although some regulations exist at the national level of the individual EU - 17 -
Feasibility Study Organic Bitter Tea in Cao Bang: 2007 member states). However, major EU importers are increasingly using more general food safety regulations, such as EurepGAP. 5.2.2. Japanese organic regulations and procedures Environmentally friendly agriculture (EFA) is a concept used in Japan. It encompasses more than organic agriculture and this, to some extend, creates some confusion. The total of EFA certified farms comprises 22 % of all farm households in Japan. In 2002, organic farmers accredited under the Japan Agricultural Standard law represented only 0.7 % of EFA farmers. Organic regulations took effect in Japan from 2001. The regulation was revised in 2005 and this new regulation became effective on March 01, 2006. Organic production is regulated as part of the new Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS) under MAFF. Standards are very similar to the EU standards, with main exception of the list of permitted products. One specific, and very important, requirement of JAS is for a "Grading Manager" who acts as quality assurance manager. Grading means that prior to authorizing the use of the JAS seal the person in charge (the Grading Manager) checks that for the respective lot the organic standards and internal instructions were followed. The result of this verification has to be documented in a checklist, which has to be filed during at least one year. Like the person responsible for production, the grading manager has to attend a JAS seminar, prior to first JAS inspection (www.ceres-cert.com/en_jas.html, accessed on October 15, 2007). MAFF officially recognized the equivalence of EU regulation (EEC) 2092/91 with JAS standards. Due to this agreement on equivalence, JAS certification can be issued without additional inspection when the operator is already EU certified. (This process is called "recertification"). However, the JAS certificate should be issued by a certifier, which is accredited by MAFF. 5.2.3. Korean organic regulations and procedures The Korean organic labelling system for fresh produce and grains is called “environmentally friendly” with four variations of an organic seal. The first is Organic (green), Transitional (light green), No Chemicals (blue), and Low Chemicals (orange). In terms of inspection and certification, there is an important difference whether a raw material/fresh product or a processed product is being imported into Korea. Organic raw materials need to be inspected in the country of production by a Korean inspector, foreign certifications are not accepted. The applying company pays all expenses for the inspector to travel to the farm. However, the applicant can be the importer and not necessarily the producer. The certification lasts one year and the time frame to receive certification is one to two months after the application is received (Llandry, 2004). - 18 -
Page 1: Helvetas Vietnam Swiss Association
Page 4 and 5: Feasibility Study Organic Bitter Te
Page 6 and 7: SUMMARY Feasibility Study Organic B
Page 8 and 9: 1. INTRODUCTION Feasibility Study O
Page 22 and 23: storing organic product must be cle
Page 30 and 31: 7.4. Conclusions Feasibility Study
Page 32: ANNEX 1 - LIST OF PEOPLE INTERVIEWE

Report Feasibility study organic bitter tea Cao Bang - Helvetas

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?