In a world first, on 6 September, Sainsbury’s announces an initiative to safeguard the continued integrity of its organic products. The company has committed to have all own label organic products certified by IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) accredited bodies by 2003. The IFOAM accreditation programme ensures equivalency of certification programmes world-wide.
Linda Bullard, the President of IFOAM says “We are delighted that our long-time supporters Sainsbury’s have become the first supermarket in the world to recognise the benefit to their customers of having their organic food and drink verified through the IFOAM Accreditation Programme. The programme is truly international, completely independent, and assures consumers that no matter where in the world the product comes from, it was produced and certified to a uniform standard of organic quality.”
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Sainsbury’s Technical Product Manager for Organic Foods, Robert Duxbury says, “As the market grows it is essential that integrity of organics is maintained. This move will ensure all Sainsbury’s organic foods, wherever they are from, reach IFOAM’s strict international criteria of certification. It is the most effective answer to the “But how do I know that imported organic food really is organic?”, a question frequently asked by Sainsbury’s customers.
“IFOAM standards are the most stringent organic standards to be found anywhere in the world. By doing this we will require our suppliers to exceed the requirements of national organic legislation in order to deliver to our consumers organic products of the highest standard.”
Currently the majority of organic products sold under the Sainsbury’s own label brand are certified by the Soil Association, the UK’s leading organic certification body. Patrick Holden, Director of the Soil Association said “Maintaining consumer trust in internationally traded organic products will be a critical factor in the development of the organic market. As one of the first organic certifiers to join the IFOAM accreditation programme the Soil Association is thrilled that Sainsbury’s is making this groundbreaking commitment.”
In addition Sainsbury’s will encourage all their suppliers to become members of IFOAM. Currently Sainsbury’s is the only supermarket member of IFOAM in the UK.
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By GlobalData70% of organic food sold in the UK is imported. Sainsbury’s is committed to reducing the amount of imported organic food and is concentrating on developing partnerships with UK farmers and suppliers as well as research and development organisations in order to boost the amount of organic food produced in the UK.
