Organic Certification in Canada and Quebec

The organic food market in Canada has been experiencing significant growth over the past few years. Organic certification plays a crucial role in assuring consumers that products meet strict organic standards, the certification process helps consumers make informed choices and ensures the integrity of the organic label. According to the Canada Organic Trade Association, there are more than 7,300 certified organic operations in the country.

QAI provides organic certification for products sold in Canada through the Canadian Organic Regime (COR) and the Québec Organic Reference Standards and can help you leverage your USDA organic certification via the U.S.-Canada Equivalency Arrangement.

Operators based in Canada who want to claim their product as organic must be certified to the Canadian Organic Regime (COR). The main standard documents for this certification are the Organic Production Systems General Principles and Management Standards (CAN/CGSB 32.310-2020) and Permitted Substances List (CAN/CGSB 32.311-2020). Operators should also consult the Standards Interpretation Committee (SIC)’s Questions and Answers.

For operators based in the province of Québec, compliance to Québec Organic Reference Standards is overseen by the Conseil des appellations reservées et des termes valorisants (CARTV). Québec's scope is the same as COR with some additional requirements. For certified operators shipping products to Québec, the rules, including labeling, are outlined in the Québec Organic Designation Specification Manual.

Products that have been certified by the Canadian Organic Regime and have 95 percent or more organic content may use the Canada Organic logo. Imported products must meet the requirements of the Canada Organic Regime. Should imported products bear the Canada Organic logo, the statement "Product of", immediately preceding the name of the country of origin, or the statement "Imported", must appear in close proximity to the logo. Use of the Canada Organic logo is voluntary.

Products certified as compliant with the Canadian Organic Regime by QAI may bear the widely recognized QAI Certified Organic mark. We also offer this mark as a bilingual version in English/French. Use of this mark is optional.