COA officials said yesterday the Legislative Yuan passed the Agricultural Production and Certification Administration Law last year that bans sales of farm produce and processed agricultural products without certification.

The law is designed to safeguard the growing number of consumers who prefer organic grains, vegetables and fruits although these products command higher prices.

But when ratifying the new law, the legislators also gave a two-year buffer period before implementation to allow ample time for suppliers to cope with the rules.

The buffer period is set to expire in late January.

Suppliers of local or imported agricultural products without certification and found misleading consumers with the term of “organic” (including in foreign languages) in their product labels or display signs will be subject to fines from NT$60,000 to NT$300,000.

Producers who claim their products are “organic” but are found to have used chemicals for crops or drugs for livestock will be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.

Unqualified suppliers will face a maximum fine of NT$1 million if they use the “organic” certificate or logo without meeting the criteria set by the certifying agencies.

Four organizations have been authorized by the COA to issue the certificates to qualified suppliers.

They are the Taiwan Organic Production Association, the Taiwan Formosa Organic Association, the Tse---in Organic Agriculture Foundation, and the MOA (Mokichi Okada) International Association.

The new rules also cover the manufacturing and marketing of processed agricultural products. But no organization has been designated by the COA to handle the certifying work for processed items yet.

COA officials said two organizations have already passed preliminary qualifications reviews and they are expected to start providing the certifying service in 2009.