Standards and Regulations

Summary

Farmer associations developed the first standards for organic production in the middle of the last century. The first international standards were published by IFOAM in 1980. The first legislative initiatives were developed by some European countries (e.g. Austria, France) in the 1980s. In 1991, the EU passed the organic regulation 2092/91 and set standards with major implications for international trade, and included not only production standards, but also standards for labeling and inspection. Various countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia introduced legislation in the 1990s. In 1999, Codex Alimentarius approved the first guidelines for organic plant production. Livestock production was included in 2001. In the new millennium, most major economies have implemented legislation on organic production; in 2002, the US National Organic Program came into force in 2002, and the Chinese legal framework was finalized in 2005.