Organic Certification

• Declaration
• Government Certified Certificate of Organic Origin
• Facts About Certified Organic Vanilla
• Other Certification

Declaration
Beans supplied by The Organic Vanilla Bean Company™ are planted, pollinated, grown, harvested, dried, cured, packed and delivered entirely in accordance with strict Government protocol for organic designation. You will find no nasty herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers, chemicals or additives of any kind in our vanilla beans. Government agencies regularly inspect our organic farming techniques, practices and procedures and consequently their certification is a real hands-on endorsement, not just a rubber stamp. For security purposes and to avoid forgery, the Government Agencies prohibit the duplication of their Certification. Upon request, we will happily provide our certification details to bone fide industry resellers.

Government Certificate of Organic Origin

Facts about Organic Vanilla

Know the Origin – At The Organic Vanilla Bean Company™ we sell vanilla only from our own plantations where we supervise every aspect of the process. We insist that only local independent government certifying agencies regularly inspect our plantations on-site in order to maintain origin and product integrity. The Provincial Departments of Agriculture & Lands, independent agencies of The Government of Papua New Guinea regularly inspect our organic farming locations, techniques, practices and procedures and consequently their ORGANIC CERTIFICATION is a real hands-on endorsement, not just a rubber stamp. Most of our plantations are inspected a minimum of FOUR times annually.

Trust the Certification - Certification Agencies in the European Union (EU), Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and the USA (the ‘Big Six’) provide excellent NOP certification programs within their respective countries and when reciprocating with one another. Certification outside of these countries can often meet their criteria when their resident foreign approved examiners inspect farming locations and practices that follow protocol that meets the high standards of these agencies. These resident approved examiners are fully familiar with local conditions in their respective country and spend a great deal of time in the field and usually know the local growers. The flaw in the system occurs when the Big Six agencies DO NOT have approved examiners resident in certain countries, usually second and third world countries, where most vanilla is grown. In this case, outside examiners have to travel overseas to visit an unfamiliar location, usually only once per year and often for less than 48 hours. These examiners often face a conflict when they rely on information provided by the very same growers they are certifying! Their best source of information is gained by consultation with the local independent Government Agricultural Agencies who are intimately familiar with local conditions and growers. Papua New Guinea has no resident examiners representing the Big Six agencies. Relying on visiting examiners represents an inspection flaw that does not meet the certification criteria of The Organic Vanilla Bean Company™. Consequently, we insist that certification must be undertaken by local independent Government Agriculture Agencies, who follow NOP guidelines, using Australian regulatory guidelines. Only such agencies are fully familiar with prior and current land use and who can provide frequent plantation visits to ensure that protocol is fully and continually enforced. Only then can we fully assure our clients of authentic certification.

Myths No 1: Growers in Third World countries do not use additives such as fertilizers, chemicals etc., either because they are not available or they simply cannot afford to buy them.
Nothing could be further from the truth! Fertilizers are common place in every country worldwide. In vanilla growing countries, most cash crops are purchased by large foreign companies. These companies often provide fertilizers for their growers. Fertilizer use is even more common among growers of coffee, cocoa, tea and vegetables. Land use is often part of a rotation system, so even if fertilizer isn’t applied to a current vanilla plantation, it can still be evident in the soil from prior crop use. Equipment, tools, drying houses, packaging materials must also adhere to protocol.

Myth No 2: Buying from large importers or their middlemen assures organic integrity and they probably always supply organic vanilla.
Some large importers sell and clearly label their Certified Organic vanilla. If it isn’t designated as Certified Organic Vanilla then you must assume it is not ORGANIC. Large importers and their middlemen in the USA and elsewhere sell vanilla that originates from literally thousands of small farms, over which they have no control, which they normally purchase through local overseas agents. There is absolutely no way that they can verify ORGANIC practices unless each location is locally CERTIFIED.

Myth No 3: Certification made by ‘foreign’ governments lacks authenticity.
Certification requirements differ from country to country. The EU and Japan, for example, have tougher conditions than the FDA in the USA. The Papua New Guinea Department of Agriculture models its agriculture policies on the Australian guidelines, which are also arguably tougher than the USA FDA regulations. Summary: Trustworthy certification can be valid when endorsed by agencies that know the land and visit it often.

Future Certification

Currently we do not hold certification from other designated agencies as none currently provide certification in Papua New Guinea. However, we are investigating the possibility of securing European Union, Japan, Australia and United States certification through their authorized examiners. We will post information on the progress of this endeavor.