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Revision of the Demeter Standards
There is a link here
to the revised Demeter Standards for Primary Production in NZ (773Kb Acrobat
[pdf] file)
This revision document is the unproofed revised edition.
It is substantially correct except it has yet to be checked for
- Errors in spelling and grammar
- Errors in paragraph and page numbering
- Errors in the index
The standards for processing and labelling are not part
of this revision.
The revisions are mainly intended to
- Remove the advisory Demeter start-up option. Currently
the counting of the three years (minimum) farming to the Demeter Standards
required for full Demeter certification begins with the visit of an
inspector or advisor. Demeter International notified us that an advisory
visit cannot be a formal part of a Demeter certification system. Instead
we propose that counting begin when the application papers reach the
Demeter office.
- Add a clearer process for the approval of biodynamic
preparations. Currently preparations are approved as part of the Demeter
certification, but the requirements are not stated in the standards.
The draft states current practice and adds a process for approving biodynamic
preparations from non-Demeter farms, such as those certified organic.
- Remove the option for brought-in conventional calves
less than 7 days old to eventually be Demeter certified for meat. This
option has very rarely been used and is a relic of a time when certified
organic livestock farms were few and far between. The special New Zealand
exemption given by Demeter International has only another year's life.
- Avoid licensee confusion by explicitly stating some
Demeter requirements that are different from certified organic requirements.
- Tidy up some poorly worded sections.
Our
contact details:
Demeter New Zealand
Postal: PO Box 39045,
Wellington
Telephone: 0-4-589
5366 (within NZ); +64-4-589 5366 (international)
Fax: 0-4-589 5365
(within NZ); +64-4-589 5365 (international)
E-mail: demeter@biodynamic.org.nz
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