More and more customers are now becoming choosy about products they consume these days and what that implies is that they just have a very bigger appetite for highly certified organic alcohol. So what makes alcohol "organic" anyway? Certifying something as organic is not just proclaiming "there is no poison here," we actually have a complete deck of regulations and standards that guarantee things get made in an ecologically sound way and actually promote health. Organic certification doesn't just speak to avoidance of man-made chemicals - it's more than a regulation about no bad stuff. Understanding what organic certification is all about is key to distinguishing genuine organic liquor from other options that may use misleading labeling.
- The Role of Organic Certification Agencies
In every country, there are regulatory bodies that exist to monitor what are referred to as organic certification and they determine what kind of standards make something truly produced organically. Regulatory bodies in a way give the orders and make sure things are of good standards of organic purity. An example is the United States where the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates organic certification through the National Organic Program (NOP). In the EU, certification takes place by various accredited bodies that complies with EU regulations.
These establishments make sure alcohol producers have to abide by strict rules from the way they grow crops to the way they process. To officially count as organic, organic alcohol has to meet some criteria and that entails getting regular checks by seasoned agents who check everything to ensure they meet the right tests and paperwork.
- Organic Farming Standards
The very first step of the journey to organic accreditation for alcohol starts with ingredient sourcing. For the ingredients to be organic, the base ingredients like grapes for wine, grains for beer and herbal spirits must be grown organically. Organic cultivation techniques must be used in producing the material that is used directly in organic ethyl alcohol manufacture. This means that no chemical pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers must be used during growth. Instead, organic farming relies on organic ways of maintaining soil health and pest control, such as crop rotation, composting, and natural pest control.
GMOs are also entirely prohibited in organic farming. That means that seeds, plants, or crops used for the production of organic alcohol must come from non-GMO sources. Organic farming is all about being gentle with the land and providing for nature. They value diversity through planting many different types of crops and respecting animals and insects living there. They also attempt to keep the earth healthy so that it is great and fertile for a really extended length of time. They do truly look out to make sure the land will be sustainable and useful for a long time, and not simply for short term benefit.
- Non-Synthetic Additives and Processing Methods
Apart from the rules set for the practice of agriculture in the case of organic production of alcohol, there are also strict rules specified for how the production of alcohol occurs. Organic ethyl alcoholproduction is not supposed to incorporate synthetic chemicals, artificial additives, and preservatives. This means that substances such as sulfites (used in regular winemaking) should be in small amounts or excluded from organic alcohol production altogether.
Author's Bio
Andrew Winslow is actually a household name with us humans due to writing about all things organic alcoholand he's certainly one who knows the craft. He has dedicated decades to learning it and brings all his knowledge on organic ethyl alcohol into this article to inform readers as to why picking organic spirits makes sense.