WILD-HARVESTED PRODUCTS ORGANIC CONTROL AND CERTIFICATION INFORMATION
Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry official website;
https://www.tarimorman.gov.tr/Konular/Bitkisel-Uretim/Organik-Tarim/Genel-Bilgiler
In the step “What Consumers Should Know”, the information provided on this subject is as follows:
Can wild-harvested products obtain organic certification? What are the conditions?
An operator who will collect products from forests and natural areas that have signed a contract with an authorized control body must obtain written permission from the authority owning or holding the usage rights of these areas before collecting products. (Article 6 – (1)(c))
In the collection of naturally grown edible plants and parts thereof in forests, natural areas, and agricultural areas, the following points shall be observed. (Article 13 – (1)(ç))
The collection area must not have been treated with fertilizers and pesticides prohibited under the “Regulation on the Principles and Implementation of Organic Farming” for three years prior to the collection activity.
The collection area must not have experienced a fire in the last two years.
The natural ecological balance and preservation of species in the collection area must be ensured.
No conversion period is applied to wild-harvested products.
In addition;
For enterprise and operator control, the required information and documents Article 35 – (1) (a/12):
In case of product collection from forest areas and nature, all definitions related to the area (including maps of the area), official permits, and all technical interventions made in the area, disasters, and quarantine measures are required.
In the Turkish Regulation on the Principles and Implementation of Organic Farming published in the Official Gazette No. 27676, where do wild-harvested products fall in terms of scope and activity?
Scope Article 2 – (1) This Regulation covers all kinds of plant, animal, and aquaculture production and the production or procurement of inputs to be used in accordance with the organic farming method, yeasts used as food or feed, the collection of products from forests and natural areas in accordance with the principles of organic farming, the processing, packaging, labeling, storage, transportation, marketing, control, certification, inspection of these products, and technical and administrative matters related to penal provisions.
Therefore, for products collected (harvested) from forests and natural areas in accordance with the principles of organic farming, the same organic farming rules apply to technical and administrative matters related to processing, packaging, labeling, storage, transportation, marketing, control, certification, inspection, and penal provisions, as for other products.
Definitions Article 4 – aa) Organic farming activities: Producing or cultivating organic products or inputs using soil, water, plants, animals, and natural resources, collecting products from natural areas and resources, harvesting, cutting, processing, sorting, packaging, labeling, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing, importing, exporting, and other processes until the product or input reaches the consumer.
As understood from the definition of organic farming activity, products collected from natural areas and resources are not products produced or cultivated using soil, water, plants, animals, and natural resources, but products that grow spontaneously in forests and natural areas.
What should be considered in the harvesting of wild-harvested products?
Harvest Article 13 – (1) The harvest rules in organic plant production are as follows:
a) Technical tools and equipment used in the harvest of organic products must not cause ecological damage or pollution.
b) Manual collection materials must be of a structure that will not compromise the organic status of the product. Collection materials must be hygienic.
c) Operators must take necessary measures against possible commingling and substitution with non-organic products.
According to the European Union Organic Farming Regulation (EU) 2018/848, what should I know about organic wild-harvested products?
In one of the implementing regulations complementing the European Union Organic Farming Regulation (EU) 2018/848, (EU) 2021/1189, “plant production” is defined as agricultural production including the harvesting of wild plant products for commercial purposes.
(EU) 2018/848 Annex II, Detailed production rules, Part I: Plant Production Rules
2.2. Rules on the collection of wild plants are specified as follows:
The collection of wild plants and parts thereof growing naturally in natural areas, forests and agricultural areas is considered as organic production, provided that:
(a) for a period of at least three years before the collection, those areas were not treated with products or substances other than those authorised in organic production;
(b) the collection does not affect the stability of the natural habitat or the maintenance of the species in the collection area.
Operators shall keep records of the period and location of the collection, the species concerned and the quantity of wild plants collected.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP), what should I know about organic wild-crops?
Wild crops are considered a separate organic certification category under USDA NOP. Therefore, you must ensure that the control body you choose is accredited for “wild crops.”
§ 205.202 Definition of Wild crop: Any mushroom, plant, or portion of a plant that is collected or harvested from a site that is not maintained under cultivation or other agricultural management.
§ 205.207 Wild-crop harvesting practice standard
A wild crop that is intended to be sold, labeled, or represented as organic must be harvested from a designated area that has had no prohibited substance, as set forth in § 205.105, applied to it for a period of 3 years immediately preceding the harvest of the wild crop,
A wild crop must be harvested in a manner that ensures that such harvesting or gathering will not be destructive to the environment and will sustain the growth and production of the wild crop.
According to NOP Handbook 5022;
Unmanaged, untrained and uninformed harvesting of wild products from a wild habitat without maintaining or improving the natural resources can disqualify the wild products from organic certification.
Harvesting products from an abandoned farm or orchard does not qualify the products for certification as organic as a wild-crop or crop because there are no documented management practices being employed.
Additionally;Irrigation, use of permitted materials, such as those on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, introduction of new plants, seeding with seeds not from the existing plants, and any form of tillage, are examples of agricultural practices where certification as a crop, not a wild-crop, is required.
Minimal agricultural practices, such as re-seeding from and pruning of existing plants or the removal of non-native species, along with the sustainable harvesting of the wild crops may be employed.