Landless Production (Mushroom and Sprouts)

There are only a limited number of landless production systems that can be certified under the organic standards. Hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics systems cannot be certified under the Australian Certified Organic Standard.

Production of mushrooms shall comply with all relevant sections of the organic Standard, including section 6 in addition to the following. Mushroom production systems may achieve certification after a pre-certification and auditing system under the CO that verifies greater than 12 months since last use of a prohibited substance in areas applied for certification and full compliance with the requirements of this Standard. Two or more production cycles must have been produced under organic conditions compliant with this Standard prior to products being sold as organic

For organic certification, materials for compost must be from certified sources, or be verified and documented to be from a source equivalent to organic production (no pesticides or other prohibited products used in the production phase). Such compost must have reached pasteurisation temperatures (>65 degrees Celsius) prior to use, to ensure food safety risks are managed effectively. All composts and growing media used (from the commencement of the composting process) shall be audited and certified for compliance with this Standard. The full requirements of mushroom production can be found under section 7.4 of the ACOS.

Production of sprouts shall comply with all relevant sections of the organic Standard, including section 6 in addition to the following. Sprout production systems may achieve certification after two production cycles have been under an organic auditing and inspection system.

Seed origin for all sprouts shall be from certified organic sources. All water used in production shall meet, as a minimum, the World Health Organization guidelines for drinking water. Levels of chlorine or fluoride shall comply with potable water Standards. The full requirements of Sprout production can be found under section 7.3 of the ACOS.