"Organic" Standards

Last night the investigative TV programme "Carte Blanche" did a feature on the quality and standards of the beaches in Durban.

The gist of the issue is that Durban is a high profile tourist destination in South Africa and a centre for large conferences and of course a flag-ship destination for the 2010 World Cup soccer event in South Africa, and as such a standard of excellence is required to maintain the reputation, if not for run of the mill South Africans!!

In Europe at least the beaches and beach fronts have a standard of excellence called "Blue Flag".
There is a standard regarding faeces count permissible per measure in the water as an example. There is a standard regarding the pollution on the beaches and the sea, and many other factors of course.
If the standards are met, the beach is accredited with "Blue Flag" status and users of the facilities can recognize the level of safety.

It transpires that the beaches and facilities in Durban fall way short of the standard and have lost their "Blue Flag" status.
City authorities replied that possibly the "Blue Flag" status is too high and we (South Africa) will have our own standard.

It is almost too absurd to find credible. They are suggesting that we don't mind swimming in more shit than Europeans do.

By the same measure, the standard of what is and what is not "organic" can be considered.
There are many standards and measures to use "the word" Organic.

The EU has a standard that all the countries that make up the EU have signed up to.
To market "Organic" anything in the EU you must comply to this minimum at least.

South Africa is considering it's own standard - because the EU version is too strict.

I rest my case.