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Organic Liquor Products

The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations has specific requirements if a liquor product:

  • has an organic claim on the label and is sold between provinces or territories or imported; or
  • displays the Canada Organic Logo on the label and is sold within or outside of Canada.

In these cases, organic labelling requirements must be followed, and valid organic certificates must be acquired and retained.

What does this mean for organic liquor products sold in Alberta?

Domestic product

Products must be certified organic according to the Canadian Organic Standards. A product can be certified organic if it has been certified by a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) accredited certification body to meet the Canadian Organic Standards. Liquor suppliers of domestic product are expected to ensure their organic products comply with these requirements.

The Canada Organic Regime does not apply to organic products that are only sold within a province or territory and do not display the Canada organic logo. For these products, the CFIA would verify on complaint that organic claims are truthful and not misleading, as required under the Food and Drugs Act as well as the Safe Food for Canadians Act.

Imported product

Imported organic products may be certified to the Canadian Organic Standards by a CFIA accredited certification body or be certified in accordance with an equivalency arrangement established between Canada and the exporting country. Where an equivalency arrangement is in place, organic products must be certified by a certification body accredited by that country and recognized by Canada.

Existing equivalency arrangements:

  • US-Canada Organic Equivalency Arrangement (USCOEA)
  • EU-Canada Organic Equivalency Arrangement (EUCOEA)
  • Canada-Switzerland Organic Equivalency Recognition
  • Canada-Costa Rica Organic Equivalency Recognition
  • Japan-Canada Organic Equivalency Arrangement (JCOEA)
  • Canada-Taiwan Organic Equivalency Arrangement (CTOEA)
  • UK-Canada Organic Equivalency Arrangement (UKCOEA)
  • Canada-Mexico Organic Equivalency Arrangement (CMOEA)
  • Canada-South Korea Organic Equivalency Arrangement (CSKOEA)

As per the Canada Organic Regime import requirements from CFIA, anyone who imports organic products must be able to present a valid organic certificate at any time, including at the time of import. To fulfill this requirement, AGLC requires a valid organic certificate that meets the Canadian Organic Standard for every imported organic product.

Submit organic certificates to AGLC

Please submit your valid organic certificates for imported organic product to organic-certificates@aglc.ca.

This will contribute to minimal disruption during the customs clearance process. Valid organic certificates for imported organic products will also be requested during product registration.

Additional information

Please refer to Organic products - Canadian Food Inspection Agency (canada.ca) for additional information.