Philippines - Organic farming 17 Jan 2011
WHILE the rest of the world was busy preparing for the New Year’s Eve party last week, a few vegetable sellers were preoccupied with one thing: that new stickers bearing the words “Certified Organic” get pasted on their produce before it hits the market. On Saturday, new food labelling requirements demand that only Government-approved organic farms get to label their produce as “organic”, thus putting an end to a situation that is best described as a “free-for-all”.
This requirement, according to the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry, is intended to give some kind of assurance to consumers that they are getting genuine organically-grown stuff.
The popularity of eating safe, chemical-free food in recent years meant that many players have marketed their produce as organic, without any form of independent, third party verification or certification...
