In April 2020 IFOAM – Organics International has endorsed four new standards as organic for inclusion in the IFOAM Family of Standards. The newly included standards are:
ASEAN Organic Federation, Southeast Asia. The ASOA was developed by the Expert Working Group for Organic Agriculture of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The purpose of the ASOA is to provide a basis for organic trade and mutual recognition arrangements in the ASEAN region and it is foreseen that other standards from the region will align themselves to the ASOA.
Certification Alliance Organic Standard, Asia. The Certification Alliance is a collaborative platform for organic certification bodies in the Asia region. The Certification Alliance Organic Standard was developed as a common standard for use by partners of the alliance that is based in the ASEAN member states. It is a private organic standard and it is aligned to the ASEAN Standard for Organic Agriculture (ASOA).
Earth Tag Organic Standard, Malaysia. The Earth Tag Organic Standard belongs to a private certification program and brand – the Earth Tag Seal - managed by KEAN BENG LEE Industries.
FENAB Standard, Senegal. The FENAB Standard was developed by the National Federation for Organic Agriculture in Senegal and it is the first private standard from West Africa that has been included in the Family.
These standard endorsements are the end result of a process of application, evaluation, and improvement that has ranged from several months to several years, depending on the standard.
All organic standards that are included in the IFOAM Family of Standards have successfully passed an assessment against the Common Objectives and Requirements of Organic Standards (COROS), an assessment matrix that was developed in cooperation by IFOAM- Organics International with FAO and UNCTAD. The full list of standards in the IFOAM Family of Standard is available online. A summary of the assessments is publicly available for each standard, which you can view by clicking on the standard in the list. Full assessments are also available on request.
The IFOAM Family of Standards is the only existing global program to review and endorse organic standards and technical regulations. It can be used as a criterion for recognition of multiple standards, for example for the purpose of recognition of prior certification, the equivalence of imported products, or as a tool for multilateral equivalence. If you would like more information on the IFOAM Family of Standards, are interested to get your organic standard assessed or would like to know more about how to use the Family of Standards as a criterion for accepting standards as organic in your program, please contact the IFOAM Organic Policy and Guarantee team at ogs@ifoam.bio.