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Certified organic produce is your guarantee that what you are eating is the genuine product, grown according to stringent international standards.

Most Purefresh Organic growers are fully certified organic, and while we accept fruit and veges in conversion to organic production, we do not market product from growers in their first year of organic production.

There are four certification marks or labels in New Zealand, and many more overseas, but New Zealand is the only country in the world with 2 IFOAM accredited certification agencies: Biogro and Agriquality.

Biogro is the major certifier for New Zealand’s exports of organics. Their organic standards book had only one page when they started in 1986, but it is now more than 100 pages long!

IFOAM is the international Swiss-based trademark that endorses those certification agencies from individual countries that meet their very strict guidelines for organic agriculture.

Time frame for becoming fully certified organic:
0-12 months: The grower cannot say his/her product is organic.
12-24 months C1: In conversion to organic production
24-36months C2: In conversion to organic production
36 months: Full organic certification

After obtaining full certification the grower still has to go through yearly audits to prove that he/she is doing everything by the book. The growers have to keep records of everything they do on their property. From what materials they bought, to who harvested that patch of cauliflower. The paper trail and record keeping for an organic grower can sometimes be even more challenging than the actual growing!

Look out for the different conversion and fully certified logos on our packaging to know what stage each product is at.