Products certified in the U.S. as containing organic ingredients will be eligible for expedited certification across the Atlantic under a mutual recognition agreement between San Diego, Calif.-based Quality Assurance International and Brussels-based industry group NaTrue.

Announced March 12, the agreement will enable personal-care companies certified to NSF International's "NSF/ANSI 305" standard for "Made with Organic" products in the U.S. to "simultaneously garner NaTrue certification" in Europe for natural products "with an organic portion."

The arrangement "is expected to open up new growth opportunities in the EU for personal-care companies whose products contain organic ingredients. It will also streamline the certification process, reducing overall certification costs," USDA-accredited certifier QAI notes in a March 12 release.

QAI and NaTrue announced their collaboration on a mutual recognition program in early 2009 (¹ Also see "Certifiers In U.S., EU Working On Mutual Recognition Of “Made With Organic”" - HBW Insight, 23 February, 2009.).

Both NSF/ANSI 305 and NaTrue's standard require products to have at least 70 percent organic content and comply with other various formulation and production standards before they can bear seals authenticating their made-with-organic status.

"Retailers are seeking consistent and concrete standards for what organic means in the personal-care aisles," QAI's Senior VP Joe Smillie notes. With NSF/ANSI 305, "we have a peer-reviewed, transparent standard for retailers, regulators and consumers looking for a trustworthy label."

To date, five applicants have been certified to the NSF guidelines - Weleda, Earth Mama Angel Baby, Naturally Nova Scotia, Primavera's Amala brand and Trademark Cosmetics.

"Dozens more" have embarked upon the certification process, and QAI expects the mutual recognition deal with NaTrue to drive greater demand.

NaTrue Secretary-General Julie Tyrell states: "We've been steadfast in our dedication to clear standards for personal care in Europe. ... It's thrilling that companies can now achieve certification to similarly careful, peer-reviewed standards in the U.S., and to offer the same for U.S. companies selling products in the EU."

NaTrue oversees standards for natural products and organic products in addition to products "with an organic portion."

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, an early pioneer in the natural/organic personal-care sector, is critical of NaTrue's criteria for "organic" products, which represent a "greedy overreach ... for outright 'organic' claims on products that violate basic organic consumer criteria - [namely] that organic personal care be free of sulfated, hydrogenated and synthetically preserved ingredients," it says.

NSF/ANSI 305 - touted as the product of "balanced input from industry representatives, public health/regulatory officials and users/consumer representatives" - received a warmer reception from Dr. Bronner's when it launched in February 2009. However, the Escondito, Calif. company still holds the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program as the gold standard.

NaTrue announced recently that it is working to establish a mutual recognition agreement with the Natural Products Association (² 'The Rose Sheet' March 15, 2010, In Brief).

- Ryan Nelson ( ³ r.nelson@elsevier.com )

TEST - U.S. Certifier QAI, NaTrue Mutually Recognize Products With Organic Content U.S. Certifier QAI, NaTrue Mutually Recognize Products With Organic Content

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