Overview

The book seeks to address the intersection of food organics and the emergence of a new contractualism between producers, distributors and consumers, and between nation states. Additionally, it seeks to cater to the needs of a discerning public concerned about how its own country aims to meet their demands for organic food quality and safety, as well as how they will benefit from integration in the standard-setting processes increasingly occurring regionally and internationally. This edited volume brings together expert scholars and practitioners and draws on their respective insights and experiences in the field of organics, food and health safety. The book is organized in three parts. Part I outlines certain international perspectives; Part II reflects upon relevant histories and influences and finally, Part III examines the organic food regulatory regime of various jurisdictions in the Asia Pacific.

Full Product Details

Author:   Bee Chen GOH ,  Rohan Price
Publisher:   Springer Verlag, Singapore
Imprint:   Springer Verlag, Singapore
Edition:   1st ed. 2020
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9789811535826

ISBN 10:   9811535825
Pages:   277
Publication Date:   17 June 2021
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

CHAPTER SYNOPSES Chapter 1 Goh, Bee Chen and Price, Rohan  Introduction: Organic Food Safety and Regulatory Framework in the Asia Pacific   PART I   INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON ORGANICS REGULATORY FRAMEWORK Chapter 2 Leifert, Carlo, Willson, Adam and Paynter, Greg HACCP-based quality assurance systems for the organic food sector; the need to cover food quality, safety and security The price premium achieved by organic foods is based on consumer perceptions that organic crop and livestock production protocols deliver significant environmental, biodiversity, ethical and food quality, and security gains.   Auditing based organic certification and HACCP-based food safety assurance systems that are currently used for quality assurance in primary food production focus primarily on ensuring (a) that 4 farmers do not use prohibited inputs such as synthetic chemical fertilisers, pesticides, hormones, and food additives that are of concern to consumers, (b) the absence of potentially harmful microbial, chemical and physical hazards and (c) traceability of foods throughout the supply chain. In contrast, quality assurance systems for environmental, biodiversity and in particular nutritional quality and food security gains associated with organic production systems are relatively poorly developed. Also, while animal health and welfare is a major objective of organic standards/certification schemes, current standards/auditing systems are thought to be inefficient with respect to ensuring (a) the ethical treatment of farm workers and (b) “fair trade”/ethical relationships between supply chain actors.  This chapter will therefore review the results of recent meta-analyses of the agronomic and supply chain factors responsible for (a) differences in nutritional quality between organic and conventional foods, and (b) positive environmental, biodiversity and food security impacts of organic farming practices. Approaches/strategies which could be taken to expand organic certification schemes to cover nutritional, environmental, ethical and food security-related “quality” parameters are discussed.     Chapter 3 Shen, Ying Chinese Organic Food Law and Its Impact on Climate Change China is among the world’s largest producers in organics and its organic agriculture has been boosting since the turn of the Millennium with the rapid development of both domestic and international production and trade in organic food. To instil transparency and trust among stakeholders, the Chinese government has issued a series of new regulations relating to food safety and organic certification. Organic agriculture ensured by these regulations is not only affected by climate change but also contributes to it, both adapting to changes and offering options for mitigation (i.e. reducing greenhouse gas emissions and storing carbon). This chapter aims to provide an overview of Chinese organic food law and investigate its impact on climate change. Through investigating stakeholders involved in and regulations relating to organics, challenges to the enforcement of food safety law as well as organic certification issues are identified and analysed. Particularly, the impact of these regulations on climate change mitigation and adaptation is discussed as an outlook on the development of organic agriculture in China.   Chapter 4  Goh, Bee Chen COOL Organic Trade - Organic Food Certification Influencing Asian Consumerism, with a special reference to China and Thailand Consumers are interested in buying organic food products from countries where there is a reputation for organic quality and standard through the certification process. Countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada have been well-known generally for high-quality organic food production and distribution through maintaining stringent standards in organic accreditation and certification from paddock-to-plate, or farm-to-table. It appears that an unconscious factor is also at play in influencing consumer motivation and behaviour in buying organic – trust in certification. Here, consumers have to trust the organic foods that they buy are genuinely organic. A large contributing factor lies in the country-of-origin labels (COOL) in organics. This chapter will argue the case for (1) creating consumer trust in locally produced organic food in Thailand and China through implementing a regulatory framework for organics that can induce confidence in consumer behaviour; and (2) encouraging mature organic economies like Australia, New Zealand and Canada to capitalize on the country-oforigin labels in organic food confidence in increasing their organic export trade to China and Thailand.    PART II  HISTORIES AND INFLUENCES ON STANDARDS Chapter 5 Willson, Adam, Paynter, Greg and Leifert, Carlo History of the current organic farming standards and auditing-based certification systems The first organic farming systems were developed almost independently in the German speaking and English speaking countries in the 1920s and 1930s (Lockertz W. 2007 Organic Farming: An International History. CABI, Wallingford). The first auditing systems for organic farms and organic sales organisation (Demeter) for biodynamic products were also established in the 1930s. Until the early 1990s, the development and revision of organic farming standards was carried out by charitable organisations, foundations or private companies, who also provided both (a) agronomy advice/support to farmer and (b) certification services. With the introduction of legal standards in Europe and the USA the revision and development of the basic legal organic standards has become the responsibility of government bodies, but is usually done in close consultations with organic farming sector bodies. Also, the International Federation for Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM, www.ifoam.bio) provides (a) a global organic farming standards (which can be used by developing countries without national legal standards) and (b) support/advice for the development of private and legal government standards.  In many European countries, but also North America and Australia, the original certification bodies have maintained their own standards, which are often described as “higher” or more in line with the “organic principles”. These private standards comply with the government’s legal standards, but impose additional restrictions with respect to stocking densities or flock sizes or the use of certain inputs and/or prescribe additional management practices). Also, organic sector bodies had to separate their advisory and support activities from their certification services. This chapter will describe the history of organic farming in the background of different stages of agricultural intensification (also described as the green revolution) over the last 100 years. Also, the development of organic farming standards and audit-based certification systems will be critically discussed in the context of (a) the challenge of ensuring traceability and authenticity in the  increasingly global organic food chains and (b) “regulatory issues in organic food safety in the Asia Pacific” region.  Chapter 6 Kodera, Satoshi The Evolution of the Organic Japanese Agricultural Standard System: 20 Years of History This chapter aims to evaluate the development of the Organic Japanese Agricultural Standard System (JAS) and to examine the influence of the system on the Organic Food Safety in Japan. The organic JAS system is based on JAS law and allows the operators certified by registered certifying bodies to attach the organic JAS logo to products that were produced or manufactured in accordance with relevant organic JAS standards. The system was introduced in 1999 when the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted the Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods. In 1999, Japan revised the Law Concerning Standardization and Proper Labeling of Agricultural and Forestry Products and set the organic JAS standards. Under the new system, only the operators certified by registered certifying bodies are able to attach the organic JAS logo to products that were produced or manufactured in accordance with relevant organic JAS standards. It has been approximately 20 years since the introduction of the organic JAS system. The aim of this article is to examine the development of the system and to clarify the role that this system has played for the development of the Organic Food Safety in Japan and the challenges it is facing today.     This chapter begins with looking at the history of the organic JAS system in Japan. It explains the background of how and why this system was introduced. Then it overviews the pathways that the organic JAS system has taken. The second section of the chapter looks into the content of the current organic JAS system. The system sets the standards for four kinds of products, namely organic plants, organic processed foods, organic feeds and organic livestock. This article overviews the organic JAS standards, certification method, and the mutual recognition relating to imports and exports with these four kinds of products.  The third section examines the challenges that the current organic JAS system faces. This section specifically aims to clarify the problems from the viewpoint of the consumers in Japan. Recently we can easily find representations that could mislead the customers because of the rapid expansion of the organic market. Consumer Affairs Agency, newly established in 2009, regulates such misleading representations under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations. This section takes up the actual cases with such misleading representations and reveals the challenges the Organic Food Safety in Japan faces.     Chapter 7 Price, Rohan Technocracy and scientific farming: Reviewing the red revolution of China through a green lens Recent books by Joshua Eisenman and Sigrid Schmalzer on the history of scientific agriculture in China have emphasised (1) there were a wide variety of successful attempts to reimagine Chinese agriculture that have been forgotten in a history of failure and hardship and (2) the role of the commune as a public-private hybrid institution emphasising local economic control declined not because of inefficiency but political expediency after Mao’s passing. In this review of the recent revisionist literature on the Chinese agricultural revolution, it is contended that Mao’s mass scientific movement in agriculture neither banished Old Society forms of productivism entirely nor should be characterised only by China’s famines.     Chapter 8 Wong, Natalie W.M. Managing food waste, Improving food safety? The case of gutter oil in China In recent years, the growing public concerns have encountered in regulations, risks, trust, and food safety problems in China. The discussions of widespread of overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has had implication to food safety are largely overlooked; however, a lack of knowledge about the impact on the food waste generation and its impacts to food safety.  The increasing urbanization of China and rising affluence of its citizens has led to the change of dietary habits and consumption patterns which led to generate food waste but also contaminate the environment, and links with the risk of food safety. In this chapter, using gutter oil, illegal cooking oil from leftover or used oil and animal parts, as a case study to review encompassed China’s food waste management strategies. It addresses fragmented environmental decision making and insufficient food safety standards, which consequences to environmental pollution and health of waste.    PART III  NATIONAL REGULATORY JURISDICTIONS CHINA Chapter 9 Snyder, Francis and Ni, Lili Regulating Troika Food in China: Organic Food, Green Food and Pollution-free Food This chapter focuses on the regulation of organic food, green food and pollution-free food (‘troika food’) in China. Food safety has been a continuing concern for Chinese citizens in recent years, especially since the 2008 baby formula scandal severely damaged public confidence in the safety of domestically produced food.  A partial exception is so-called ‘troika food’, which has existed in China for several decades, but consumption of which remains limited because of cost. In this chapter, we consider the history, development and social context of the regulation of troika food, with special emphasis on organic food. The chapter has three objectives: first, to outline the main differences between organic food, green food and pollution-free food; second, to emphasise the gradual alignment of organic food standards with international standards about production, certification and export; and, third, to consider whether the regulation of troika food in China may represent a distinctive developmental model which can be useful in food safety regulation in other countries in  the search for global food  sustainability.   Chapter 10 Li, Hui Regulatory Issues on Organic Food in China China is a growing market in organic food consumption. The new regulations and laws and their strong enforcement have been injecting more and more confidence and mutual-trust among the stakeholders. After an overall review of the developing process of organic food law system in China, this chapter analyses the characters and positions of different stakeholders in the entire system; the concrete process of certification of the producers and processors of organic food and the legal requirements concerned. Then it considers the opportunities; challenges; and deficiencies in the design of the organic legal system, such as the punishment to those who violate the law is too weak, the collaboration and integration among the supervising authorities should be strengthened, and the public transparency should be reinforced etc. In total, there is still a relatively long way to go for the construction of more efficient organic food law in China.   SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA Chapter 11 Nathani, Suhail Examining the legal and regulatory framework governing organic food industry in India Notwithstanding the fact that India is largely a vegetarian market, mirroring mounting global concerns, the debate surrounding pollutants in human food chain has been intensifying in India as well. Quality of produce, food adulteration, use of harmful chemicals to enhance crop yield, indiscriminate use of antibiotics in animal husbandry, have been the subject matter of much discussion, with organic food often recommended as a viable alternative.   Given the above context, it is no surprise that the organic food industry has been witnessing healthy growth in the country. A study conducted by Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) ranks the country at ninth position among 178 countries that actively practice organic agriculture. At present, the country is home to more than 835,000 organic producers, 699 processors, 669 exporters and 1.49 million hectares area under organic cultivation. However, with only a meager 0.4% of the total agricultural land area is designated for organic cultivation, the current scenario presents an extensive scope for expansion.    Stemming from increasing awareness and spending capacity, the organic food industry in India is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of over 25% during 2016-2021. In addition to the growing domestic market, India is the second largest exporter of organic products in Asia after China. To its credit, the Government of India and various state governments have adopted several proactive steps towards promoting the organic food market in India, including rolling out schemes to incentivize organic cultivation (like National Program for Organic Production and National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF) and creating uniform certification standards such as PGS-India. Recently, on July 1st, 2018, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) introduced standards and certification norms with a view to increasing quality norms and helping to bridge a trust deficit for its produce amongst foreign buyers.  The pace of evolution of an enabling system of laws and regulations has, however, been sub-par. To give a fillip to this industry in India, the government needs to adopt a proactive approach and draw meaningful lessons from other jurisdictions which have been successful in nurturing a home-grown organic food industry.   This paper will analyze the factors driving the discourse on organic food in India from a multi-faceted perspective encompassing legal and commercial aspects, specifically focusing on domestic legal framework, certification protocols, licensing norms, policy incentives required to boost this industry (and potential impact on India’s international trade commitments), supply/storage chain and consumer concerns.   Chapter 12 Chitov, Thararat and Chitov, Alexandre Organic Food Safety in Thailand from Scientific and Legal Perspectives The rising demand for safe food in Thailand has led to increasing popularity of organic food. This calls for a significant transition from conventional agriculture, in which agricultural chemicals are employed to protect plants and animals and to enhance yields of agricultural produce, to organic agriculture. Such transition, however, is a complex process that requires farmers’ commitment, scientific and technological support, and revision of national policy and regulations. This chapter addresses food safety issues organic farmers and organic food manufacturers are facing and their management, using both traditional knowledge and the advancement of science and technology, in the Thai environmental, social, and economic contexts. It also presents mechanisms that support organic agriculture and organic food safety control measures, with a special focus on Thai government’s regulatory system by means of agricultural standards and guidelines. The support and influence of non-governmental organisations on the development of organic food legislation is also discussed.  Chapter 13 Kongcharoen, Nuthamon From the Field to the Kitchen – Securing Organic Farming Thailand still has a long way to go to secure organic farming as a basic safeguard for food safety for everyone. Currently, it does not have restrictions on chemical usage in agriculture. It only has exportimport controls for hazardous substances. Meanwhile, consumer protection groups have reported that vegetables in fresh markets are highly contaminated with chemicals. Organic farming would be the solution to this situation. This chapter will be composed of three parts. First, it will scrutinize the problems relating to food security regarding the use of chemicals in agriculture – the lack of control of chemical use and an overview of the regulations and authorities governing chemical usage in conventional agriculture. Second, it will analyse the process of food safety in Thailand’s domestic market with respect to certified organic and other types of food. It will also be proposing reform of Thai law in order to protect the consumers and farmers from chemical use. In the final part, it will propose the introduction of a regulatory system to monitor and support organic farming as a way of safeguarding food security and accessibility for all concerned.  Chapter 14 Kien, Van Nyugen Perception of Challenges and Opportunities for Organic Research and Development in Vietnam Since Vietnam adopted green revolution during 1970s, farmers converted their natural ways of farming into conventional agriculture using short-term rice and vegetables with the intensive inputs of agro-chemicals. Unfortunately, the Vietnamese society nowadays has a considerable concern about the side-effect of conventional farming on human health and natural environment. There is a strong demand in safe food or organic food in urban areas as well as the rural communities. In responses to this issue, the government has initiated the organic agriculture strategy for Vietnam in 2017 while growers and processors already practised organic agriculture for domestic consumption and exports in the last decade. Drawing the evidence from 20 in-depth interviews (qualitative research) with government officials, researchers, NGOs, processors and organic growers in Vietnam and reviewing literature, this chapter provides insight into perceptions of stakeholders about organics industry in Vietnam in the aspects of (1) adoption of organic agriculture, (2) awareness of domestic and international standard and market for organic food, and (3) perception of government policies for organic agriculture movement in Vietnam.    Chapter 15 Aziz, Mohammad Firdaus and Mispan, Muhamad Shakirin Organic food safety regulation in Malaysia: developments and challenges The organic food industry is relatively new in Malaysia and the government has recognised its potential to contribute to economic growth. Consumers’ interest in organic food has increased and there is demand locally. This is largely due to the image associating organic food with free chemicals, all natural and therefore, good and safe for health. However, scientific studies have shown that agrochemical residues, microbial pathogens, and environmental chemicals can still be detected in organic food. Therefore, its safety is still paramount. Malaysia has introduced policies and regulatory measures to facilitate the development of this industry. Nonetheless, there are some issues and challenges, for instance, lack of public trust towards the quality of organic products, which also questions the quality of the accreditation system. This chapter explores the current regulation for organic food safety in Malaysia to find out its adequacy in paving the path for Malaysia into becoming a globally recognised exporter of organic food.    PACIFIC Chapter 16 Telesetsky, Anastasia Organic Food Safety in the United States For some consumers, there is an assumption that organic food is “pure” and free of contamination and pathogens.  There is widely held perception that the 2002 U.S. federal organic regulations that reduce pesticide use and forbid certain conventional agricultural practices are more protective of human health. As a national outbreak of salmonella in peanut butter demonstrated in 2009, the organic certification may or may not be protective of human health. This chapter examines “food safety” in two different contexts. First, the chapter examines how existing organic regulations may play a significant role in protecting the health and safety of organic food producers by not exposing these producers to risks of toxic chemicals. Second, the chapter examines the question of “food safety” from a consumer perspective. While organic certifications may support healthier practices for the soil and for food producers, the certification does not guarantee the products will not be contaminated at various stages of the food production and distribution system. This chapter will describe the United States’ food safety system and raise questions about gaps in the existing regulatory system that are not protective of consumer food safety. This chapter will also explore whether organic certification should include additional food safety checks beyond conventional food products or whether this would simply undermine existing efforts to strengthen food safety across the entire regulatory system.   Chapter 17 Epps, Tracey Regulation of the New Zealand Organics Sector New Zealand’s organics sector has grown significantly in recent years, being worth approximately $30 billion in 2015, up 30 percent from 2012.  In a 2017 survey by the Ministry for Primary Industries, 72 percent of New Zealanders indicated that they buy organic products some, most or all of the time.  Despite this growth, New Zealand does not have mandatory standards for organics. Instead, organic products must comply with a number of overarching laws that apply to non-organic products, including the Food Act 2014, the Fair Trading Act 1986, and the Animal Products Act 1999.  In addition, there are a variety of voluntary organic standards and practices.  Following a public consultation process in 2018, the Government announced that it will develop a national standard for organic production.  This chapter will examine the history of organics regulation in New Zealand, looking at the issues associated with the voluntary regime that led to the decision to launch a consultation process, as well as the key factors that led to the decision to initiate reform.  Chapter 18 Phillips, Alexander Canadian Agri-Food Organics Regulation: Enhancing Food Security and Trade with China  This chapter outlines what “organic” means in Canada and how consumers can recognize certified organic agri-foods both within and from Canada as being “healthly and safe” food.   Specifically, it discusses the regulatory requirements that agri-food producers in Canada must meet for their products to be certified as “organic”.  This includes recognized principles of sound organic farming systems throughout the production, processing, storage, transportation, labelling and marketing stages.  It also discusses how importers of organics can meet Canadian regulatory standards by accessing accredited certification bodies for their country and by utilizing mutual recognition “equivalency” agreements with Canada.    The chapter then discusses the growing demand for Canadian agri-food organics domestically and internationally. In particular, it assesses the growing demand for particular organic products from Canada in China and the reasons for it.   In short, the chapter outlines Canada’s efforts to increase its capacity to seize agri-food organics trade opportunities by promoting long-term relationships that include reducing trade impediments through reciprocity, harmonization of regulatory regimes, instituting transparent organic certification standards and continuing to invest in “world class” cold supply chain distribution systems. By doing so, the chapter explores the relationship between consumer confidence and food security from the Canadian perspective as an open and trustworthy trading nation.  

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GOH Bee Chen A former Malaysian Rhodes Scholar, GOH Bee Chen is Professor of Law and Director of the Judge-in-Residence Program, School of Law and Justice, Southern Cross University, Australia. Bee Chen has recently been a Visiting Professor at the Chiang Mai University Faculty of Law in Thailand. She is a Director and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, Fellow of Cambridge Commonwealth Society and Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies in London. Besides Organics regulatory framework, Bee Chen’s current collaborative research project deals with Law and Theatre. Her scholarly interests include Mediation and ADR, especially on Cross-Cultural (Sino-Western) Dispute Resolution and International Law of Peace. Her publications include Negotiating with the Chinese (Dartmouth/Routledge, 1996), Law Without Lawyers, Justice Without Courts: On Traditional Chinese Mediation (Ashgate/Routledge, 2002), Goh, Offord and Garbutt (eds) Activating Human Rights and Peace: Theories, Practices and Contexts (Ashgate/Contributors Routledge, 2012); Farrar, Lo and Goh (eds) Scholarship, Practice and Education in Comparative Law: A Festschrift in Honour of Mary Hiscock (Springer, 2019). Price, Rohan A lecturer in the Southern Cross University School of Law and Justice, Dr Rohan Price has established a reputation as a foremost historian of the role of nationalism in the British/Chinese colonial encounter. Rohan was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of New England (Australia) for his thesis on the use of property law to encourage civic loyalty to colonial Hong Kong between the world wars. His books including Reading Colonies: Property and Control of the British Far East and Resistance in Colonial and Communist China (1950-1963) are based on extensive archival and digital repository research. His books have been described in reviews as “passionate”, containing “argumentative strength and forthright originality” and “enormous attention to historic, theoretical and political detail”. Rohan has enjoyed lengthy stints as a visiting profssor in three Chinese universities over the last decade, teaching in fields including common law history, maritime law and the law of trusts. His interest on Chinese food safety issues was prompted by a friend in Hong Kong who, in 2008, casually mentioned he should not to buy the same brand of noodles every time he went to the supermarket. 

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