Having certified organic seed is an important step in the process. Some hatcheries are navigating that process, and a couple have achieved that certification, including Spring Tide Seaweed and Atlantic Sea Farms in Maine. Some vertically integrated companies have sought organic certification for their products, and farms may been certified under that umbrella if not individually. @grace_collery@sam_gar do you have any insights for certification on the farmer side?
@kendall_barbery thanks for sharing about certified organic seed. @john_cotton great question! Similar to the organic certification process for land-based agriculture, both wild-harvested and cultivated seaweed can be certified organic. Federally, there is a process for certifying wild-harvested seaweed as organic, but this standard does not apply to cultivated seaweed. There are however accredited certifying agents who certify seaweed-farming operations and cultivated seaweed as organic. The two I know of from other farmers are Maine Organic Farmers and Growers and Oregon Tilth. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association certifies organic food and products. They primarily certify operations based in Maine, but can certify any operation in the United States. Their certification covers cultured and wild crafted sea vegetables, but not crops grown in recirculating systems. The Guidelines for Organic Sea Vegetables outline the requirements for certification of seaweed Oregon Tilth provides organic certification services to organic growers, processors, and handlers based in North America. They’ve certified wild-harvest, ocean-farmed, and tank-based seaweed operations. Rather than outlining specific requirements, they consider each application and site individually. A detailed overview of the process can be found here. They have two types of certifications you might apply for, depending on your operation:
Crop Certification: Certification for seaweed farms. The farm can still handle and process their crops (including activities like packaging, drying, labeling, etc).
Handling certification: Required if the farm is adding off-farm ingredients to their products (ie. if you are adding additional salt that you purchase from a vendor)
Hope this helps and please let me know if you have any follow-up questions!
@kendall_barbery The only thing I'll add to @grace_collery 's excellent answer is that two other USDA accredited certifiers who have worked with kelp are QAI and Ecocert. @john_cotton I hope this helps -- let us know if you have any further questions!
Having certified organic seed is an important step in the process. Some hatcheries are navigating that process, and a couple have achieved that certification, including Spring Tide Seaweed and Atlantic Sea Farms in Maine. Some vertically integrated companies have sought organic certification for their products, and farms may been certified under that umbrella if not individually.
@grace_collery @sam_gar do you have any insights for certification on the farmer side?
@kendall_barbery thanks for sharing about certified organic seed. @john_cotton great question! Similar to the organic certification process for land-based agriculture, both wild-harvested and cultivated seaweed can be certified organic. Federally, there is a process for certifying wild-harvested seaweed as organic, but this standard does not apply to cultivated seaweed. There are however accredited certifying agents who certify seaweed-farming operations and cultivated seaweed as organic.
The two I know of from other farmers are Maine Organic Farmers and Growers and Oregon Tilth.
The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association certifies organic food and products. They primarily certify operations based in Maine, but can certify any operation in the United States. Their certification covers cultured and wild crafted sea vegetables, but not crops grown in recirculating systems. The Guidelines for Organic Sea Vegetables outline the requirements for certification of seaweed
Oregon Tilth provides organic certification services to organic growers, processors, and handlers based in North America. They’ve certified wild-harvest, ocean-farmed, and tank-based seaweed operations. Rather than outlining specific requirements, they consider each application and site individually. A detailed overview of the process can be found here. They have two types of certifications you might apply for, depending on your operation:
Hope this helps and please let me know if you have any follow-up questions!
@kendall_barbery The only thing I'll add to @grace_collery 's excellent answer is that two other USDA accredited certifiers who have worked with kelp are QAI and Ecocert.
@john_cotton I hope this helps -- let us know if you have any further questions!
@kendall_barbery thanks for sharing about certified organic seed. @john_cotton great question! Similar to the organic certification process for land-based agriculture, both wild-harvested and cultivated seaweed can be certified organic. Federally, there is a process for certifying wild-harvested seaweed as organic, but this standard does not apply to cultivated seaweed. There are however accredited certifying agents who certify seaweed-farming operations and cultivated seaweed as organic.
The two I know of from other farmers are Maine Organic Farmers and Growers and Oregon Tilth.
The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association certifies organic food and products. They primarily certify operations based in Maine, but can certify any operation in the United States. Their certification covers cultured and wild crafted sea vegetables, but not crops grown in recirculating systems. The Guidelines for Organic Sea Vegetables outline the requirements for certification of seaweed
Oregon Tilth provides organic certification services to organic growers, processors, and handlers based in North America. They’ve certified wild-harvest, ocean-farmed, and tank-based seaweed operations. Rather than outlining specific requirements, they consider each application and site individually. A detailed overview of the process can be found here. They have two types of certifications you might apply for, depending on your operation:
Hope this helps and please let me know if you have any follow-up questions!
@kendall_barbery The only thing I'll add to @grace_collery 's excellent answer is that two other USDA accredited certifiers who have worked with kelp are QAI and Ecocert.
@john_cotton I hope this helps -- let us know if you have any further questions!
@john_cotton thanks to all for answering my questions