Organic food reforms: MPI seeks feedback on enforcable rules

The Ministry for Primary Industries is asking for feedback on proposed reforms to the organic sector.

With producers able to choose from a range of voluntary standards to label their food as "organic", the government is working to introduce a single set of rules it says will be enforceable and will help boost consumer confidence in organic products.

In a discussion document released yesterday, MPI put forward a plan for how that could be achieved. As part of the changes, growers would need to have an organic management plan and have their operations verified by MPI before they would be allowed to make organic claims about their products.