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CCOF Press Releases
Press Release
January 15, 2006
For Immediate Release |
Contact:
Jake Lewin
CCOF Marketing Director
(831) 423-2263, ext. 21
jake@ccof.org |
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CCOF Achieves Largest U.S. Organic Certifier Status
Santa Cruz , CA, January 15, 2006 – Official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) listings of certified operations in the United States reveal that CCOF is the largest domestic organic certifier. After more than 30 years of experience and leadership, CCOF continues to lead the marketplace by certifying more than 11% of U.S. organic businesses. More than 50 domestic certifiers provide organic certification to slightly more than 11,000 farms, processors, retailers and other businesses. Of these, CCOF certifies over 1,200 companies throughout the organic supply chain and is one of only two companies shown to certify more than 1,000 entities each year. CCOF’s current client base includes more than 1,000 organic farmers and 300 organic processors representing almost every scale and complexity within the organic community.
“CCOF provides strict service-oriented organic certification. It’s apparent that the marketplace recognizes CCOF for its high integrity and history of quality certification. While we knew that CCOF was a major marketplace player, it took the USDA’s own data to verify that CCOF issues more organic certificates each year than any other organic certifier in the United States,” said Peggy Miars, CCOF Executive Director.
Since these numbers were reported by the USDA, CCOF has gained 101 new clients and 27% more acreage. Acreage in the CCOF program grew by more than 40,000 acres in 2005 to about 218,000 certified organic acres. Today, CCOF certifies more than 850 organic products and services ranging from raw agricultural commodities to processed goods, including wine, pasta sauce and more.
 About CCOF
CCOF, a nonprofit organization formed by a group of grassroots activist farmers , is one of the oldest and largest organic certifiers in North America. CCOF’s purpose is to promote and support organic agriculture in California and elsewhere through:
• A premier organic certification program for growers, processors, handlers, and retailers.
• Programs to increase awareness of and demand for certified organic products and to expand public support for organic agriculture.
• Advocacy for governmental policies that protect and encourage organic agriculture.
More information: About CCOF, CCOF History, CCOF Fact Sheets and Statistics .
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