Sunwin Stevia receives National Organic Program (NOP) certification
The NOP certification will be enable Sunwin's stevia products to expand in a hugely growing global organic market
Sunwin Stevia International, one of the top global suppliers of high quality stevia extracts, including Rebaudioside A 98 and Rebaudioside A99, has announced that Qufu Shengren Pharmaceutical Company, Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sunwin Stevia, has obtained National Organic Program (NOP Certificate No: 50OGA1400229) certification.
In the United States, NOP is the federal regulatory framework governing organic food. Certification is handled by state, non-profit and private agencies that have been approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
NOP regulations cover in detail all aspects of food production, processing, delivery and retail sale. Under the NOP, farmers and food processors who wish to use the word 'organic' in reference to their businesses and products, must be certified organic.
A USDA Organic seal identifies products with at least 95% organic ingredients. To be approved by the NOP certification, the products needs to be tested and approved to meet the regulations of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, which defines the standard organic farming practices and acceptable organic production inputs.
According to a market analysis by Organic Trade Association, sales of organic food and non-food products in the United States broke through another record in 2014, totaling $39.1 billion, up 11.3% from the previous year. Organic sales now near a milestone 5% share of the total food market.
The organic dairy sector posted an almost 11% jump in sales in 2014 to $5.46 billion, the biggest percentage increase for that category in 6 years. Sales of organic non-food products — accounting for 8% of the total organic market — posted the biggest percentage gain in 6 years, with sales of organic fibre and organic personal care products the stand-out categories.
Ms Dongdong Lin, CEO of Sunwin Stevia stated: 'Having the NOP certification, we are allowed to label our stevia products as 'organic.' The NOP certification will be enable Sunwin's stevia products to expand in a hugely growing global organic market. Management plans to actively market its organic stevia products to maximise the huge potential in a multiple billion organic market.'