When organic milk is not organic

With the visibility of supply chains growing ever more opaque in big food, third-party certification can provide a valuable tool to reassure consumers of product safety and authenticity.

This is evident in GlobalData’s 2016 consumer research, which shows that 60% of global consumers consider on-pack certification logos from the government or another authority to be somewhat or completely trustworthy.

However a recent investigation by the Washington Post on a certified organic dairy supplier in the US has highlighted how such certifications may not be a sure-fire way to ensure prescribed production standards are followed by brands and suppliers.

The report alleges that on the eight occasions reporters visited Aurora’s High Plains dairy – a supplier to Costco and Walmart – only a few hundred cattle were seen grazing on any one visit, less than ten percent of the dairy’s total herd. This is a key issue because for their milk to be considered organic, cows need to be outside throughout the grazing season, spending at least 120 days of the year on the pasture.

Highlighting that there could be a disparity between farming practices and the standards implied by certifications could threaten overall consumer confidence in organic claims and certificates as well as the ability for brands to use them as an effective tool in marketing and enforcing brand credibility.

With 43% of consumers globally saying they are interested in and actively buying organic food and drink with a further 42% of consumers being interested but not yet buying such products, the potential for this market is significant and further impresses the importance of upholding the integrity and validity behind organic claims, as well as validating them through strong certification.

There is therefore a crucial need for more robust enforcement of third-party food regulations, such as organic, across not just America, but globally. Additionally, this calls for more effective marketing communication and transparency on behalf of brands that comply with such regulations in order to properly educate consumers about their production practices, to avoid such claims of malpractice and ensure that the efficacy of third-party certification is not eroded.

In the modern day, consumers seek deeper, more authentic reassurances and transparency about how products are produced.

Click here for more from GlobalData's Consumer team.