Organic products: what the certification means

In Puerto Rico “organic” is not an adjective anyone may attach to their product. This Act turns it into a regulated claim: to sell, advertise or label something as organic you must be certified, and local products sold packaged must carry a specific phrase. It serves two different people: the one buying who wants to know whether they are being told the truth, and the one farming who wants to be certified.

Certification is not only for the one who plants. Article 5(1) says the Department “must certify producers, processors, handlers and anyone involved in marketing organic agricultural products produced using organic means.” The Article 3 definitions widen who is who: “producer” is the person involved in cultivation or production; “processor” is any person who, in or outside Puerto Rico, manufactures, packs, repacks or in any way processes an organic agricultural product for sale and distribution in Puerto Rico — that is, it also reaches someone processing off-Island if the product is sold here; and “person” includes any individual, partnership, association, cooperative, corporation or any other form of legal organisation. What must be met is the method: Article 3(4) defines organic agriculture as a soil management system based on building humus levels through crop rotation, recycling of organic waste and application of soil amendments, using when necessary biological or mechanical controls with minimal adverse effect.

• Produce under an organic agriculture system: soil management that builds humus levels through crop rotation, recycling of organic waste and application of soil amendments.Verified against the official source
• File the certification or renewal application with the Department of Agriculture along with the non-refundable charge the Department sets.Verified against the official source
• Once certified as a producer, keep a copy of the certification available for inspection at the organic farm.Verified against the official source
• If engaged in marketing, certification or processing, keep a copy of the certification at the main building of the business or commercial establishment.Verified against the official source
• Accept annual inspections and periodic residue tests by the Secretary or by authorised certifiers.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: If you are buying: the word “organic” is protected

   Article 10 is blunt and it is the one that serves a buyer most: “No person may market, advertise, label or represent that an agricultural product is organic unless the agricultural product is certified under this Act.” Note the reach: it is not just the label. Marketing, advertising, labelling or representing — that is, the stall’s sign and what you are told out loud at the market too — falls within the prohibition if the product is not certified.

2. 2

   Step 2: The exact phrase the container must carry

   That same Article 10 gives you something concrete to look for: “Puerto Rican organic agricultural products sold in containers or receptacles must have a label appearing on the receptacle, package or container carrying the phrase ‘Producto Certificado Orgánico de Puerto Rico’.” That is the phrase, word for word. Two honest clarifications: the Act writes the label duty for Puerto Rican organic products sold in containers or receptacles, and the prohibition in the previous paragraph is wider than that. And this Act does not speak of or mention the federal USDA seal; we did not read the federal rules and we do not mix them in here.

3. 3

   Step 3: What is behind the seal: annual inspection and residue tests

   A seal is worth what stands behind it, and here there are two things. Article 9 requires that “The Secretary or the authorised certifiers must conduct inspections annually at sites of an organic farm or a processing facility or an organic agricultural products marketing business.” And it adds the laboratory part: “they must make periodic residue tests on organic products that have been produced on organic farms and processed through authorised organic processors to determine that such products contain no pesticides or any other non-organic or natural toxic residue.” Inspection every year and periodic residue testing.

4. 4

   Step 4: If you farm: who has to be certified

   More people than you would think. Article 5(1) requires the Department to certify “producers, processors, handlers and anyone involved in marketing.” That is, it is not enough for the farmer to be certified if the product then passes through hands that are not. And Article 3(6) defines “processor” broadly: any person who “in or outside Puerto Rico” manufactures, packs, repacks or in any way prepares or processes an organic agricultural product “for its sale and distribution in Puerto Rico.” Processing off-Island does not take you out of the Act if the product is sold here.

5. 5

   Step 5: How to apply, and why we do not give you the amount

   Article 5(2) sets the procedure in one line: “A person applying for an organic producer certification or its renewal must file the corresponding application with the Department and a non-refundable charge established by the Department.” Non-refundable: if you are denied, that charge does not come back. And 5(3) adds that anyone filing late “shall pay an additional charge established by regulation.” We do not publish how much, because the Act does not say: Article 4 leaves the amounts to the regulation, which we did not read. That same article gives the Secretary a power worth knowing: “The Secretary may set, at his discretion, a charge of 1% on the sale of every organic product in order to defray the costs of creating and operating the programme.”

6. 6

   Step 6: Keep the certification where it can be asked for

   A small requirement that gets forgotten and that an inspector does check. Article 5(4): “The person certified as a producer under this Act shall keep a copy of the certification available for inspection at the organic farm, and any person engaged in marketing, certification or processing shall keep a copy of the certification at the main building of the business or commercial establishment.” Two different places depending on what you do: at the farm if you produce, at the main building of the business if you market, certify or process.

7. 7

   Step 7: If it is denied or revoked, you have an administrative hearing

   The grounds for taking it away are only two, and Article 11 sets them out in full: the Department may revoke or deny the certification “if: (1) the information supplied was false; or for violation of or non-compliance with any provision of this Act, the regulation issued under it or any order of the Secretary.” And you are not left without recourse. Article 12 says “any person directly and adversely affected by acts, orders or resolutions issued by the Secretary in relation to the issuance, renewal or revocation of an organic certification or an accreditation as authorised organic certifier may request an administrative hearing” under the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act, and Article 13 adds that anyone affected by a decision of the Secretary may go to the pertinent forum to review it under that same Act.

8. 8

   Step 8: Who may be a certifier, and what they may not do

   The Act allows the Department to register independent persons as certifiers — Article 3(13) defines “certifying agent” as the independent person to whom the Secretary has issued a licence to act as such — and sets them hard rules in Article 8. They must employ enough inspectors. They must keep a record of all activities for not less than ten years, which may not be disclosed to third parties except the Secretary or Department officials, and which must be handed to the Department on death, dissolution or loss of accreditation for non-compliance. And the part that protects the farmer: “An authorised organic products certifier may not have a conflict of interest with an operation it certifies, accept any kind of gift or emolument, or provide advice related to organic practices for compensation, except as provided by the Secretary by regulation.” Whoever certifies you cannot charge you to advise you.

At the Department of Agriculture, which certifies under Article 5 and registers authorised certifiers under Article 7. The non-refundable charge the Department sets goes with the application. There is also a five-member Advisory Board attached to the Department — an organic producer, a retailer, a consumer representative, a representative of the College of Agricultural Sciences and a public-interest representative, all without compensation — to advise the Secretary. The Act publishes no form, office, address, telephone or list of accredited certifiers, and we do not invent them.

• Believing not using chemicals is enough: the Act defines organic agriculture as a soil management system with crop rotation, organic waste recycling and soil amendments.
• Advertising as organic without certification: the prohibition covers marketing, advertising, labelling or representing, not just the label.
• Thinking only the farmer gets certified: the Act requires certifying processors, handlers and anyone involved in marketing too.
• Assuming processing outside Puerto Rico takes you out of the Act: the processor definition reaches those processing off-Island if the product is sold here.
• Leaving the certification at home: a copy must be available for inspection at the farm, or at the main building of the business if you market or process.
• Counting on getting the charge back if denied: the application charge is non-refundable.
• Accepting that the certifier charge you for advice: they may not provide advice on organic practices for compensation, except as the regulation provides.
• Giving up on a denial: you may request an administrative hearing under the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Agricultura de Puerto Rico

  Agricultura

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov