Criteria for Organic agricultural products Certification Criteria for Organic Foods (Appendix 3 related to Paragraph 1 of Article 9) 1. For the purpose of this Appendix, the following definitions apply: (a) Crop field means a certain area where crop is raised. (b) Chemical fertilizers means fertilizers as referred to in Subparagraph 1 of Article 2 that are produced through a chemical process. (c) Organosynthetic pesticides means pesticides as referred to in Subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Agrochemicals Control Act that are produced through an organic chemical process. (d) Crop rotation means a cropping system in which the same species of crops are not continuously grown on a specific crop field but different species of crops are grown in a planned pattern or sequence. (e) Conventional agriculture means a form of conventional farming in which crops are cultivated with the use of chemical fertilizers and organosynthetic pesticides. (f) Livestock means domestic animals as referred to in Subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Livestock Industry Act. (g) Organic feed means feed grown or produced in compliance with the certification criteria for organic processed products not intended for human consumption. (h) Harmful residues means chemicals and their metabolites remaining in livestock products due to the artificial use of veterinary drugs, such as antibiotics, synthetic antimicrobials and hormones, or due to natural contamination caused by environmental factors such as pesticides and harmful heavy metals. (i) Veterinary drugs means medicines used for the prevention, treatment and diagnosis of animal diseases. (j) Livestock rearing area means a housing facility, pasture or an open-air exercise area used for rearing livestock. (k) Withholding period means a certain period of time in which the use of veterinary drugs on livestock is restricted before the products derived from the livestock being reared are used for human consumption. (l) Integrated crop-livestock farming means a farming method in which a person who practices environmentally-friendly farming manages both cropping and livestock rearing, using the by-products of each for cultivating crops and rearing livestock, and maintains the number of livestock by adjusting it to the amount of manure needed for the crops. (m) Market milk means milk that has gone through simple pasteurization for safe human consumption. (n) Producers group means a farming group, co-op or farming organization such as cooperative units or associations composed of five or more producers. (o) Production guidelines means documents detailing specific farming methods throughout the whole production of certified products. (p) Production manager means a person in charge of preparing and managing production guidelines for farming households that belong to a producers group, recording and managing farming-related documents, educating and instructing applicants seeking certification, and preliminary audits aimed at verifying compliance with the certification standards. But those whose profession is to produce, distribute and market agricultural materials are excluded. (q) Vertical farm means a facility where crops are cultivated in a controlled environment with artificial injection or adjustment of light (LED and fluorescent light), temperature, moisture, nutrients, etc. withoutthe use of soil. 2. Organic agricultural and forest products A. Management and Management of Groups
(1) Management-related documents laid down in Subparagraph 1(A) of Appendix 4 must be recorded and preserved according to the same Subparagraph 1(A) be made available upon request by the director general of the NAQS or the head of the certification body. (2) The organic handling plan describing the production process of a specific agricultural product and other related information must be provided for audit purposes upon request by the director general of the NAQS or the head of the certification body. (3) If the applicant seeking certification is a producers group, the applicant must fulfil all of the following requirements before submitting an application and keep related materials serving as proof: (a) provide its member farming households with production guidelines that comply with the certification criteria; (b) educate its member farming households about the latest certification criteria and the requirements they must meet; (c) conduct a preliminary audit to check whether its member farming households production process of certified products meets the certification criteria and record the audit results; (d) appoint one or more production managers meeting the qualifications set forth by the NAQS for the purpose of carrying out the requirements of (a) through (c) above. B. Crop field, water and seed (1) The soil of crop fields must not exceed the level of concern for soil contamination for Area 1 set forth in Appendix 3 of the Enforcement Regulations of the Soil Environment Conservation Act, and pesticide residues must not be detected in the soil. (2) Regular inspections must be conducted on the soil of crop fields to maintain and improve its fertility and prevent excessive accumulation of salts. (3) Prior to being certified, crop fields must be in compliance with the cultivation methods in Item C for at least for the duration of the conversion periods set forth in the following (a) or (b). But the director general of the NAQS or the head of the certification body may extend or reduce the conversion periods, taking into account the land use history of the farm of the applicant. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the duration of a conversion period must be at least one year. (a) perennial crops (excluding pasture grass): three years prior to the initial harvest (b) crops other than those laid down in (a) above: two years prior to seeding or planting (4) Crop fields for wild edible plants growing in a natural environment such as a forest must be where substances other than those permitted according to Item C have not been used for at least three years. (5) The water used must be at least equivalent to water for agricultural use set forth in Article 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Environmental Policy and Article 11 of the Regulations on Preserving the Quality of Groundwater (unofficial translation). But the total phosphorous and total nitrogen categories of the Living Environment Standard for rivers and lakes and the nitrate nitrogen category of the Groundwater Quality Standards (unofficial translation) shall not be applied, and for the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of rivers and lakes, the average COD over the growth period of the crop concerned shall serve as the standard. In addition, the water used for washing agricultural produce or cultivating agricultural produce intended for consumption as sprouts, such as bean sprouts and mung bean sprouts, must meet the potable water quality standards in Article 2 of the Regulations on Water Quality and Inspection of Drinking Water (unofficial translation).
(6) Only the seeds produced and managed in compliance with the certification criteria for organic agricultural products (hereinafter referred to as organic seeds ) must be used, except in the case where organic seeds are not commercially available. (7) Genetically-modified seeds set forth in Subparagraph 11 of Article 2 of the Agricultural and Marine Products Quality Control Act must not be used. (8) If there is any source of contamination, such as a joint pest control area near the crop field, appropriate buffer zones protection facilities must be placed, and signs clearly or indicating that the field is for organic agricultural and forest products must be placed where clearly visible, such as at its entrance or the dividing space between the field and nearby crop fields. (9) Crop fields must not be fields whose certification has been cancelled within the past year due to noncompliance with the certification criteria (The director general of the NAQS must post the location of the fields on the official NAQS website). C. Cultivation methods (1) Chemical fertilizers and organosynthetic pesticides must not be used at all. (2) Leguminous or green manure crops, or deep-rooted crops must be cultivated according to an appropriate long-term crop rotation plan. (3) The organic matter put into the soil must have been produced in compliance with the certification criteria for organic agricultural products. (4) If it is impossible to provide the crops with an adequate supply of nutrients or control the nutritive condition of the soil using the methods in (2) and (3) above, the substances in Subparagraph 1(A)(1) of Appendix 1 may be used. (5) Manure and liquid manure derived from livestock excrements (hereinafter referred to as manure and liquid manure derived from livestock excrements ) must be from farms with organic or non-antibiotics livestock products certification and completely composted before use, and efforts must be taken to prevent environmental pollution caused by excessive use, washing away, eluviation, etc. But manure from farms without organic or non-antibiotics livestock products integrated crop-livestock farming systems certification and may be used if all of the following requirements are met: (a) The temperature of the manure piles during composting must be maintained between 55 and 75 for at least 15 days, and the piles must be turned over at least five times during this period; (b) Manure must not contain any antibiotic substances and the amount of hazardous substances contained must not exceed one-half of the manure standards under the official fertilizer standards in Article 4 of the Fertilizer Control Act. (6) Diseases, pests and weeds must be controlled and regulated using the following methods: (a) selection of suitable crop species and varieties; (b) suitable crop rotating system; (c) mechanical cultivation; (d) creation of an ecosystem that promotes the activities of natural enemies around the crops through crop-mixing, catch cropping, cultivation of commensal plants, etc; (e) mulching, mowing, and flame cultivation; (f) utilization of natural enemies, such as by releasing predators and parasitic animals; (g) biodynamic means such as farm manure and stone meal;
(h) grazing of animals; (i) mechanical controls such as traps, fences, light and sound; (j) If diseases, pests and the like are not sufficiently controlled using mechanical, physical or biological methods, only the substances in Subparagraph 1(A)(2) of Appendix 1 may be used. D. Product Quality Control, etc. (1) For storing and transporting organic agricultural or forest products, the cleanliness of the storage and transportation means must be maintained, and contamination from outside must be prevented. (2) For the management and control of diseases and pests, all of the following measures must be taken first: (a) preventive measures, such as the removal of habitats of diseases and pests and blocking access to facilities; (b) use of mechanical, physical or biological methods if the preventive measures are insufficient; (c) If diseases and pests are not properly controlled using mechanical, physical or biological methods, the substances in Subparagraph 1(A)(2) of Appendix 1 may be used, but they must not make any direct contact with organic agricultural or forest products. (3) Disease and pest control methods for storage areas or transportation containers may include physical barriers, sound, ultrasound, light, ultraviolet light, traps (pheromone and electric traps), temperature control, atmosphere control (carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen control) and use of diatomaceous earth. (4) If the storage areas and containers are not used solely for organic agricultural or forest products, potential contamination from pesticides or other treatments not listed in Subparagraph 1(A)(2) of Appendix 1 must be prevented before organic use. (5) Organic agricultural or forest products must not be mixed with non-organic agricultural or forest products, and if unpackaged organic products are stored or transported together with non-organic products, measures such as installing partitions in between them must be taken to prevent mixing or contamination (6) The use of radiation for the purposes of controlling pests, preserving food, eliminating the causes of diseases or hygiene is prohibited. (7) The packaging materials for organic agricultural or forest products must comply with the related provisions of the Food Sanitation Act and should preferably have been produced using biodegradable, recycled or recyclable materials (8) Pesticide residues must not be detected. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, any of the following cases may be allowed on condition that the limits applied are no greater than one-twentieth of the maximum residue limits laid down in the notification by the Minister of Food and Drug Safety of Korea, and if pesticides for which there are no established residue limits according to the same notification are detected, the amount detected must be no greater than one-twentieth of the lowest maximum residue limits for other agricultural and forest products laid down in the notification. (a) dispersal by wind from neighboring fields practicing conventional farming (b) contamination caused by water used for farming due to irrigation or drainage from conventional farming fields (c) other force majeure factors
E. Others (1) The ingredients of agricultural or forest products intended for consumption as sprouts, such as bean or mung bean sprouts, must be of organic agricultural or forest origin. (2) There must be in place facilities, equipment, work areas and the like necessary for the production of agricultural or forest products intended for consumption as sprouts. (3) The input of substances other than moisture for producing agricultural or forest products that are not soilbased is prohibited. (4) Ethylene may be used for the ripening of kiwis, bananas, and persimmons. (5) Agricultural or forest products produced in vertical farms are excluded.