Organic Certification

What's the difference between “Certified Organic” and “Made with Organic ingredients?”

For a meat product to be classified as “Certified Organic” at least 95% of ingredients of agricultural origin, additives and processing aids in the final product must be certified organic.

For a meat product to be certified as “Made with Organic Ingredient”, at least 70% of the total ingredients of agricultural origin, additives and processing aids in the final product must be certified organic.

Sausages use flavourings and casings that are not certified organic. Sausages are made with natural casings to encase the meat mixture. There are no certified organic casings available in New Zealand so natural casings are used.

What does certified organic mean?

Organic certification is a guarantee of authenticity. An organic certification mark on a product gives consumers confidence that the product they are buying has been produced according to organic standards. We, our processor and butcher are all certified organic under AsureQuality and are independently audited annually. AsureQuality guarantees the integrity of every step of the production process.

Why buy certified organic meat?

When you buy our organic meat, you can enjoy the assurance that it has been produced without the use of pesticides, hormones, genetically modified organisms or any other harmful chemicals. Our cattle and sheep are 100% grass fed and always have plenty of fresh clean water. 

By supporting certified organic farming practices you can be assured the animals have been raised to the highest of welfare standards and traceability whilst enhancing our natural ecosystems and environment. We are continually reviewing our performance towards such aspects of waste reduction, carbon sequestration, soil husbandry and social values. No other farming system in New Zealand operates to these levels of accountability and values.

Why buy certified organic meat vs organic meat?

The use of the word organic is currently not controlled when marketing products in New Zealand. For a meat to be branded as certified organic, all steps in the supply chain from rearing the animal, the processor, the butcher and transportation have been  independently verified by a certifying agency such as Asure Quality or Biogro and are subject to an annual audit. 

Only fully certified organic meat can be identified by the use of the certifying agency logo on the finished product. If the logo is not present on the finished product, some steps of the supply chain may not be certified and therefore lack authenticity.