Meaning	EU-Reg.	NOP, JAS	BIO SUISSE
Whole-farm con­version	The whole farm is managed according to an organic scheme, including husbandry and grassland	Not requested		Requested by BIO SUISSE and many other private standards
Mixed pro­duction	The farm has an organic and a conventional part, e.g. an organic apple orchard and con­ventional annual crops	Allowed (conditions see N° 3)		Not allowed, but tolerated during a short transition time under certain conditions
Parallel produc­tion	The same crop is planted on organic and conventional (or transitional) fields, e.g. conventional wheat and organic wheat	Not allowed (exceptions see N° 2)	Allowed (conditions see N° 3)	Prohibited

2.       Parallel production under EU-Regulation 2092/91:

As mentioned above, parallel production is not allowed by the EU-Regulation. Exceptions:

•     The varieties planted on organic and conventional plots can be easily distinguished by non-specialists. This may be the case for potato or bean varieties of different colour, for baby and traditional papaya, etc. In case that the organic crop is used for a form of proc­essing, where the distinguishing characteristics are not relevant (e.g. apple juice), CERES will not accept parallel production of different varieties.

•     For perennial crops, the EU-Regulation allows parallel production during a conversion pe­riod (Annex IIIA.1 3a). Conditions are as follows:

o      The operator presents and implements a detailed conversion plan, according to which all plots have to be converted to organic as soon as possible. Start of conversion of the last part may not exceed five years, from the date of first application for organic certifica­tion. The conversion plan and its implementation have to be checked and approved an­nually by the certifier.

o      Harvest, post-harvest separation, and separate equipment are assured (see N° 3).

o      The certifier "is notified of the harvest of… the products … at least 48 hours in advance".

o      "Immediately upon completion of the harvest, the producer informs the inspection body … of the exact quantities harvested on the units concerned together with any par­ticular distin­guishing features …and confirms that the measures taken to separate the products have been applied." In case of continuous harvesting (e.g. bananas), the op­erator may be ex­empt from the two latter obligations.

•     As a third alternative, the operation can be divided in a conventional and an organic part. This separation must not be just on a formal level. CERES requires separate bookkeeping and administration of the two units.

3.       Minimum requirement for separation in case of mixed or parallel production:

In case of parallel production:

•     CERES always requires operators to notify the certifier in advance, not only in case of EU-certification, with the exception of continuous harvesting.

•     Harvest of conventional and organic plots must take place on different days, or completely different staff under different supervision, using harvesting, trans­port and storage contain­ers, which can be easily distinguished, must perform it.

•     Harvest records for both conventional and organic products must be very detailed, per plot and day.

In case of mixed and/or parallel production:

•     Different harvesting, transport and storage containers must be used, or containers must be duly washed, before being used for organic. Washing procedures must be recorded.

•     Different equipment must be used for plant protection. The sprayer for the organic part must be stored in a different place, and be labelled permanently. In case that purchase or renting of different sprayers is not possible, sprayers must be washed with detergents pro­duced specially for this purpose. Washing procedures and type of detergents must be re­corded. CERES may require residue analyses for spray mixtures from time to time.

•     Plant protection products, fertilisers and seeds or planting stock for the organic and con­ventional part must be stored in different rooms. The room for organic inputs must be duly labelled.

•     Records and bookkeeping for the conventional and for the organic part must be filed in dif­ferent folders.