The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) made public the National Organic Certification Mark (NOCM) to increase consumers’ awareness on organic food production at an event in Colombo on Friday.
It was organised by the National Organic Control Unit (NOCU) of the EDB, in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Sri Lanka, co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
National Organic Certification Mark (NOCM) was developed by EDB to build trust among consumers and to provide an assurance of organic food quality and standardisation. Local, certified organic producers can apply for NOCM.
Chairman of the EDB, Dr. Kingsley Bernard said, “We hope that more and more consumers in Sri Lanka would like to buy organic food and we hope that this certification mark will help them find quality organic products on the market.
The EDB is working to ensure that products certified according to the National Organic Standard SLS 1324:2018 will receive due recognition and a market advantage thanks to this certification mark.”
The NOCU, set up in 2014 under the EDB, oversees all matters related to organic agricultural products in Sri Lanka. Under its authorisation, the Sri Lanka Standards Institution revised the National Organic Standard (NOS) SLS 1324:2018 in 2018. The NOS describes requirements for the production, wild harvest, post-harvest handling, storage, processing, transportation, packaging, labelling and marketing of organic produce and products in the island.
Farmers and producers are encouraged to follow this standard in providing high quality organic produce to consumers. The National Organic Certification Mark (NOCM) will help to improve recognition for and verify organic products that satisfy the requirements of the NOS amongst consumers and the public.