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Our Standards
We believe in organic agriculture, and we think a world with more organically grown food is better for us, for the soil and for the planet. Along with offering an ever-changing selection of seasonally awesome organic fruit and vegetables, we commit our time to the good fight.
Randy Hooper, Discovery’s Managing Director and our buyer who travels to meet farmers from Mexico to Chile, farmed organically on Salt Spring Island and in the Fraser Valley. He gains great pleasure from meeting new farmers and passing on any knowledge he thinks might be helpful. Recently, he has returned to farming himself, and tends to a few acres in the Maple Ridge area.
Stefan Misse, our President and lead purchaser, was an organic farmer himself along with a few of our past employees.
Brody Irvine, one of our purchasers, sits on the board of directors for the organic certifier Pacific Agriculture Certification Society (PACS) and is a PACS representative for the Certified Organic Associations of BC (COABC).
We are all passionate about the future of the certified organic movement, protecting and emboldening the Canadian Organic Standards, and working closely with our network of growers to bring the very best of produce to the kitchens of Western Canada.
Discovery’s warehouse is a PACS Certified Organic facility, which means we only handle Certified Organic produce.
Organic Certification
First, we will cover the foundation of the organic standards. Visit this page to learn more about organic farming fundamentals and current stats on the industry in Canada.
The Canada Organic Regime (COR) is the Government of Canada's response to requests by the organic sector and consumers to develop a regulated system for organic agricultural products. The Canadian Organic Standards define specific requirements for organic products to be labelled as organic or to bear the Canada Organic logo, and thus all organic products bearing the logo or being represented as organic within interprovincial and international trade must comply with the Standard.
An organic product is an agricultural product that has been certified as organic. To be certified organic in Canada you must be inspected by a Certification Body that has been accredited, based upon the recommendation of a CFIA-designated Conformity Verification Body. That Certification Body must certify the participating farm/facility and/or products to the Canadian Organic Standards.
Within Canada, British Columbia is a leader of the certified organic movement, and has its own provincial standard for certified organics. BC has many small independent certifying bodies who work closely amongst the organic growers of their bioregion. Collectively they are known as the Certified Organic Associations of BC (COABC), and they are capable of certifying many aspects of the agricultural and food processing industries to either the BC Certified Organic Program (BCCOP) or to COR.
Fair Trade Certification
Visit our Fair Trade page to learn more about our Fair Trade certification and commitment.
Fair Trade can mean a variety of things to different people – a social justice movement, an alternative business model, a system for ethical trade, a vehicle for poverty alleviation, a model for economic development in developing countries, or just simply, fair international trade. At a basic level, Fair Trade is a global trading model that certifies a wide range of products to guarantee ethical sourcing based on several criteria. Fair Trade certification guarantees that producers are paid fair prices, that human rights are respected throughout the operation, and that social premiums are collected and spent for the benefit of the greater community. With the great amount of uncertainties in the global supply chain, this transparent, verifiable, and accountable process allows consumers to buy products with confidence.
Fair Trade is a transparent and accountable system. Not only do producers have to be certified to call their products Fair Trade, but importers also must undergo a certification process, which includes meeting standards to prove that we are “fair” in all aspects of our business. Discovery Organics has been a pioneer for importing Fair Trade certified produce into Western Canada, and we are certified ourselves through Fairtrade Canada. Yearly audits ensure that we have contracts with our producers, that we pay producers on time, and that we pay a fair price.
“Discovery Organics is our main produce supplier for good reason. For decades, they’ve provided us with the fresh, organic produce that our customers are looking for. All year round we can depend on them to have the best local and imported organic produce in town. Their prices are fair and their customer service is excellent. And we appreciate their tireless work to support farmers. It’s obvious that Discovery Organics really cares about building relationships with their customers and growers.”
