Australian Certified Organic

Please view updated 2021 ACO Standards.

The majority of organic products sold in Australia carry the Australian Certified Organic BUD Logo. You will see the BUD on a huge variety of products ranging from apples to baby foods, coffee to liquorice and clothing.

The BUD Logo is displayed as a stamp of integrity, and is the only symbol that consumers widely recognise. The BUD represents everything that Australian organics is about – the growth and promise of spring, the sign of big things growing from the initial organic movement, and the strength and logic of nature and natural (biological and organic) systems in guiding our choices in life. The BUD reassures consumers that all the product ingredients have been certified to the Australian Certified Organic Standard and have met rigorous certification checks. It can only be used on packaging for products which have achieved certification through ACO’s certification scheme. Most importantly, the BUD represents Australia’s leading certification program – ACO – ensuring integrity of organic products in the marketplace for consumers.

The Australian Certified Organic Standard is one of the most respected and rigorous standards in the world for organic production, and is published by organic industry not-for-profit representative group, Australian Organic.

ACO is approved and accredited to act as a certifier in Australia by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources as compliant to the National standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce

ACO won the CHOICE (consumer watchdog) Award for Best Food Endorsement Program in 2010 contending against many well known and respected logos.

What is Organic?

Whole systems approach

Organics is not just “chemical free”. It is a whole systems or holistic means of growing and handling food. The whole system is linked – Soil. Plants. Animals. Food. People. Environment.

Friendlier

Certified Organic products are grown and processed without the use of synthetic chemicals, fertilisers, or GMO’s.

Innovative

Organic is an innovative method of farming and production – and is increasingly being recognised as being on the leading edge of food and fibre technology.

Market advantage

Educated consumers are happy to pay a fair price for the guarantee that the organic produce they purchase is supporting farmers who aim towards ecologically sustainable practices – looking after the environment we all share. The only way you can be assured you are buying genuine, organic products is to purchase those certified with Australian Certified Organic.
The ACO Certification Ltd BUD can only be used on packaging of products which have achieved certification through our certification scheme. Certified operators can apply to use the BUD on their promotional material to support their organic claims.

Why Certified Organic?

Guaranteed

In order to guarantee that products are organic, they need to be certified. Organic certification involves auditing an operation’s methods to ensure that they comply with the guidelines of organic production.
Over 70% of organic certified operators in Australia are granted permission to use the ACO logo, which we affectionately refer to as the “BUD”.

Rigorous standards

Standards setting follows a highly transparent process with the industry’s key stakeholders providing input via approx. a dozen Australian Organic Advisory Groups. These standards are upheld by rigorous auditing of operations and a third party report reviewing process.
This process itself is audited by government departments and authorities worldwide for ACO to maintain its accreditation as an international certifier.

All links in the chain

Wholesalers, retailers and consumers alike all know that the BUD logo is their guarantee of organic integrity. Every step of the process (from paddock to plate) must be audited according to the Organic Standard to be able to market a product using the sought-after organic BUD logo.

Market advantage

Recognition Arrangements

Certified operators are sometimes confronted with the need to use products certified by certifiers other than their own, and under different standards. In such instances, the following information can be used as a guide for reviewing recognition;

Recognised Approved Certification Bodies under the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce include AUS-QUAL Limited, ACO Certification Ltd, Bio-Dynamic Research Institute (BDRI), NASAA Certified Organic (NCO), Organic Food Chain (OFC).
Under section 8 “Imported Product” of the National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce, ACO may recognise the organic status of imported products or ingredients. Certified operations will need to check with ACO for compliance of any imported products.
Please note that additional importing country criteria or other regulatory criteria may override this recognition for given products or situations (eg USDA NOP, JAS, Europe, Canada, COSMOS).

Private standards which do not have any form of third party accreditation are not recognized. Onus is on operators to ensure that certified ingredients/products meet the requirements of the Australian Certified Organic Standards

ACO Certification Ltd is accredited by IOAS for the scope of product certification. Registration number: 39. Please refer IOAS Accredited Bodies for current information.