Certified Organic Coffee
Today, any aptly educated and aware person can tell you what the term “Organic” stands for and what is its significance when it comes to food products. Same is the case with Organic Coffee. Anybody, who has a general idea about what is meant by term “Organic”, can well imagine what Organic Coffee might be and tell you that. But, the fact is, most of them have only a rough idea of what it takes coffee to be certified as Organic Coffee. They will just tell you that not using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and preservatives on coffee makes it organic. But is that really so? I am afraid, no! That was just a small part of the whole story. Yes! I am talking about Certified Organic Coffee, because only Certified Organic Coffee can guarantee that the coffee is really organic. Others, without a certification, are mostly non organic coffee sold under the name of Organic Coffee for making quick bucks. In this article, we shall learn about what it takes to be Certified Organic Coffee; what guidelines it must adhere to; what cares are taken; what arrangements are made and who certifies coffee as organic coffee. They say, knowledge is power and awareness helps you make right decision. That’s all a customer needs, besides money of course, to pick up the right thing among many tempting illusions. Read on….!
• Certified Organic Coffee: In most of the countries and continents, wherever the Governments have taken this “Organic” thing seriously, they have laid certain conditions and guidelines that a coffee grower or seller must follow to obtain a certificate from certain certifying agencies (Government or recognized independents) to sell his coffee as Organic Coffee in the market. So, this Certified Organic Coffee is actually the authentic Organic Coffee. You can be damn sure of that! Moreover, not only this certified coffee is organic, but these certifications also ensure good quality of coffee, because when the coffee undergoes strict inspection for authenticity by these agencies; they inspect the quality also so that customer gets value for money. You can check it for yourselves. Pick some loose sold uncertified coffee beans and compare them with the packed and certified ones. You will find that the certified beans are uniform in size (Well almost! You need not use a screw-gauge!), maturity, colour and roast. You will not find any pale, immature, rotten, burnt or underdone grains in them. While the uncertified ones may have plenty of such discrepancies. Further, the variety of the coffee, the place of production, the place of processing etc. are well written in the certificate. So, you can exercise you choice well here.
• The Guidelines & Pre-requisites: Now, it is time I tell you what guidelines and pre-requisites the organic coffee growers (or any other organic crop grower) must follow to name his coffee as Certified Organic Coffee. These guidelines are recommended or prescribed by various programmes and authorities like United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Programme for Organic Production etc. Given below are some that are common to most set of guidelines.
• It must be natural, i.e. it must be a plant product or animal product. (You may think that it was not necessary to write since coffee is invariably a plant product, but you will be worried to know that now coffee comes synthetic too).
• It must be grown without using any synthetic chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
• The land on which it is grown must be left fallow (uncultivated) for at least three years (in some cases, it may differ to five to ten years) so that it detoxifies itself from the remains of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, weedicides etc. used earlier on it. Within this period, no synthetic substances or chemicals should be applied on the land.
• There should be a sufficient buffer between Organic Coffee and the nearest conventional (Non-Organic) crop.
• It must not be obtained fully or partly from or must not contain Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).
• It must not be genetically manipulated or tailored.
• It must not be injected or administered with drugs to induce more and faster growth or to enhance quality of product.
• No chemicals or synthetic flavours, preservatives, colours must be used on the products during its processing.
• It must be packed in such packets that no chemical or metal salts disintegrate into the food packed in it.
• Coffee pulp, obtained from the peel (flesh) of coffee berries, must be made into compost.
• In case of Shade Grown Coffee, sufficient space should be left for proper growth of shade trees and they should be regularly planted.
• Adequate measures must be adopted to prevent soil erosion.
• Coffee plantations, in no case, should affect the ecological balance and eco-diversity adversely.
• The water used for wet processing, should be cleaned and then drained.
• The Certification Standards: As I have told earlier that the certification also guarantees value for your money. It ensures that you get exactly what you pay for. That is why it has set three standards for certifying organic coffee. They are as under;
• Hundred Percent Organic Coffees: This ensures that every single grain or bean of certified coffee you are buying is organic and it contains absolutely no traces of chemicals or synthetic reagents.
• Organic Coffee: This certificate tells you that at least ninety five percent of the contents of your bag of coffee are absolutely organic and the rest are partly organic (they may contain some allowable or indispensable synthetic stuff which are not toxic).
• Made from Organic Coffee/Contains Organic Coffee: This label is used when at least seventy percent of the certified coffee is purely organic and the rest are partly organic (they may contain some allowable or indispensable synthetic stuff which are not toxic).
• The Hand that Certifies the Coffee: You will be happy to know that some big and recognized faces, which you can really trust, are doing this noble task. Here are some names you would be happy to know;
• Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS)
• USDA National Organic Program (NOP)
• European Organic Regulations (EU 2092/91)
• Export Certificates for Japan (JAS Equivalent)
• Indian National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP).
• Quebec Organic Reference Standard (CAAQ)
• Bio Suisse Standards
• IOFAM Basic Standards
• ECOCERT
• The Good: The best thing about Certified Organic Coffee is that it is certified and you can count on it. You have somebody reliable to tell you what you are buying is right for you. What else does a customer want when it comes to paying his hard earned money?
• The Bad: Hmmm….! Except that you pay very little extra for that organic farming, certification and packaging, there is nothing bad.
• The Ugly: Beware of fraudsters! They can even mimic a certificate. So, get yourself acquainted with the actual Logo, Certifications, Monograms and Identification Symbols etc. Although, such cases are rare. Fraudsters do not like to spend so much on mimicking these details when there main aim is to make some bucks. Anyway, being aware always pays.
• Availability: Certified Organic Coffee is not that easily available as any uncertified organic coffee and non organic coffee. The reasons are obvious; these certifications are not easily obtainable and these certifying agencies are really strict. That’s good! Certified Organic Coffee is best available in America (particularly USA) and developed nations of Europe, Asia and Africa.
• Market Share: Well! You want to know this too! The percentage goes in decimals of the total (including conventional non-organic) coffee consumption of the world (different reports project slightly different figures, but they are in decimals).
So! I think that is more than sufficient for an average coffee consumer to know, unless you are doing some research on coffee. Even if you are doing that, just remember a thing. Whenever you sit down to write your research papers, do it with a cup of hot Certified Organic Coffee. Things will flow down your mind better than you expected. Bye!
This article was contributed by Aparup Mukherjee
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