FAQ - Consumer Questions

Unfortunately there is no regulation around the word “organic” in Australia, meaning that anyone growing produce or making a product can claim organic as long as they’re using natural methods or using at least one natural ingredient.

If a business is claiming their product to be “certified organic”, when in fact they aren’t, this is something ACO takes seriously and can follow up on. If a product is claiming to be certified organic, always remember to look for a certification logo to prove its status.

The Australian Organic website provides a Where to Buy Certified Organic? section under the Consumers tab. Within this section you’re able to specify what state in Australia you’re in to narrow your search. Search www.austorganic.com.

If you’re in business and looking for supply of particular produce/products/ingredients, our Product Search on the ACO website is a fantastic tool and provides you access to ACO’s entire client database. Find the Product Search tool here.

ACO will certify imported products only if they are already certified to a major, recognised and compatible Standard. Based on this it can be assumed that the product has been grown/ handled similarly to how a product is handled in Australia. ACO verifies this by randomly testing imported products for common contaminants such as pesticides/ insecticides and synthetic compounds.

Yes. ACO has clients outside of Australia which are audited and tested (soil, water and product) during annual audits. Also, imported products are tested randomly as well as strategically based on known issues, recent contaminations and industry notices.