PISCICULTURA ORGÂNICA: ESTUDO DA EQUIVALÊNCIA E HARMONIZAÇÃO ENTRE NORMAS INTERNACIONAIS E A NORMA BRASILEIRA

Abstract

The demand for food from organic aquaculture has been growing worldwide. Certification and labeling are means adopted to differentiate these products from conventional ones. However, mutual recognition and equivalence between national standards for organic aquaculture represent an obstacle for the sector. Thus, the aim of this study was to verify the equivalence and harmonization, for organic fish production, of the norm which regulates Brazilian organic aquaculture, and four international public standards (European Union, Canada, China and Australia). The comparison was made using the tool "EquiTool", an international guide for checking equivalence between standards. It was found that the Brazilian standard has greater equivalence with the Chinese standard. The main non-conformities occurred between the Brazilian and European, followed by the Australian and Canadian standards, respectively. The greater differences were found in the delimitation of the conversion periods to the organic system, in food and in the use of chemosynthetic products to treat animal diseases.