Canadian Organic Standards: Major Changes Coming – Are You Ready?
As 2025 wraps up, so too does the 5-year review & update of the 2020 CFIA Canadian Organic Standards (COS) by the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) Technical Committee on Organic Agriculture (TCOA). Please be aware that extensive and significant updates to the COS standards are expected to be published by March 31, 2026 with a potential for publication sooner. If you hold certification or accreditation under these standards or rely on goods or services provided by operators certified to them, your operation may be impacted.
Action Advised: It is important that organic certifiers and certified organic operations monitor the CFIA Organic Agriculture website for updates and prepare for the impending publication of the COS and corresponding implementation period. The most successful operations are those that start work early, conduct a gap analysis to determine changes with the potential to affect their operations, and prepare a well-structured roll out plan to ensure compliance by the implementation due date.
Once the amended Canadian Organic Standards are published, under section C.5.2 of the Canada Organic Regime (COR) Operating Manual, a period of up to 12 months should be permitted for previously certified operators to come into compliance with any changes to the Canadian Organic Standards, with some provisions granted greater than 12 months when stipulated by the standard.
The Canadian Organic Standards are comprised of two main regulatory documents, whose scope includes field crops, honey, maple sugar, sprouts, horticulture, greenhouse crops, livestock (dairy, poultry, pig, sheep and goats), and processed food:
CAN/CGSB-32.310 - Organic production systems – General principles and management standards
CAN/CGSB-32.311 - Organic production systems – Permitted Substances Lists
Background: The review of the Canadian Organic Standards was launched in 2023. This structured standards review process is designed to identify and implement standards changes necessary to keep Canada’s organic standard current, relevant and aligned with international requirements. In 2023, organic stakeholders were invited to submit petitions for changes through the first of multiple public commentary periods. Approximately 290 proposals for modification were received and analyzed by CGSB TCOA working groups and task forces who then drafted recommended standards changes, when deemed applicable. Summaries of recommended changes as of May 2025 are available here (Summaries: CAN/CGSB-32.310 / CAN/CGSB-32.311).
In May 2025, the public was invited to provide feedback again on the proposed changes. The 60-day public comment period yielded an additional 911 comments, which were duly analyzed and actioned through further proposed alterations to the standard by the CGSB TCOA.
As of October 31, 2025, the revision of the Canadian Organic Standards (COS) reached a major milestone: members of the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) Technical Committee on Organic Agriculture were required to vote on the proposed amendments to the 2020 version of the COS by December 1, 2025. The updated Canadian Organic Standards (COS) were originally to be published by December 31, 2025. An extension has been granted and they are expected to be published by March 31, 2026. For more information regarding the Canadian Organic Standards 5-Year Review Process, please visit the Organic Federation of Canada’s project homepage.
Important: Please also note that in addition to the COS standards update, the US/Canada Equivalency Arrangement is currently under peer-review by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) per 7 CFR 205.511(d). This is a routine and expected process and will take into consideration the scope and nature of the COS standards update once published. The review may result in changes to the structure and requirements of the Equivalency Arrangement, which may also affect operations certified to the USDA NOP or CFIA COR that rely on the Equivalency Arrangement for trade purposes. It is important to actively monitor the AMS USDA website for potential changes moving forward.
The Organic Integrity Cooperative (OIC) Team is ready to support any questions, concerns or needs you may have. Please contact us anytime!