New rules compelling organic food producers to comply with Canada-wide certification standards are now in effect.

The new regulations, mandated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, cover any organic food product including fruit, vegetables, dairy products, meat and processed food.

The following substances or techniques are among those forbidden in either the production or handling stages of products that bear the Canada Organic label:

• All materials and products produced from genetic engineering.
• Synthetic pesticides, wood preservatives or other pesticides, except as specified in CAN/CGSB-32.31.
• Fertilizer or composted plant and animal material that contains a prohibited substance.
• Sewage sludge used as a soil amendment.
• Synthetic growth regulators.
• Only products that have at least 95 per cent organic content are allowed to be advertised as organic, organically grown, organically raised, organically produced, or any other similar labels or abbreviations.

Producers can still label individual products as organic on the ingredient list if they comply with the CFIA standards. Producers can also opt to stamp their products with a "Canada Organic" logo that indicates to customers that the product has been certified by the CFIA.

All produce will have to be completely organic to be stamped with the logo, while products with multiple ingredients must have 95 per cent organic content. Products that do not qualify to use the logo but have over 70 per cent organic content must indicate the percentage of its organic ingredients.

Between 70 and 80 per cent of all organic products available in Canada are imported primarily from the U.S.

Under the agreement with the US, the CFIA will consider the USDA certification equivalent to its own, and vice versa.

Accordingly, products that have been certified organic in the U.S. will bear both the CFIA stamp and the USDA logo.

Until now, organic producers in Canada only had to engage in voluntary compliance with national standards. British Columbia has mandatory regulations in place covering organic produce.