ORGANIC PRODUCT CERTIFICATION IN CANADA
ABOUT PRO-CERT.ORG
Pro-Cert resulted from the merger in 1999 of two very similar organic certification agencies:
- Organic Crop Producers & Processors (OCPP) of Ontario, Canada,
- Pro-Cert Organic Systems (Pro-Cert) of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Both founding affiliates started certification in 1990, were owned and operated by Professional Agrologists (P.Ag.’s) and worked on a fee for service basis. Neither agency required memberships or demanded royalties.
The obvious commonalities, the strategic east-west office locations, the like-minded founding principals and the need for the intellectual and financial mass to survive in Canada’s unregulated organic environment led to the merger. In September of 2007, Pro-Cert purchased all the shares to OC/PRO and now owns and operates Pro-Cert from its Head Office in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and its Eastern Branch Office in Cambray, Ontario. Pro-Cert certifies some 1,700 organic producers, processors, handlers and traders in Canada and the US. Pro-Cert's certification scope grew from certification to it's own standard to certification via appropriate accreditation to:
-
the Canadian Organic Standards and Product Regulations;
-
the EC Regulation 834/07 and 889/08;
-
the USDA National Organic Program;
-
The Quebec Organic Reference Standards;
-
MAFF (JAS) Regulations
Pro-Cert also assists applicants in obtaining Bio-Suisse (Switzerland) certification and certification to the Brazil Regulations and Standards.
To contact Pro-cert.org, click on the link to the web site below
http://www.pro-cert.org/index.php