We’re celebrating Australian Organic Awareness Month this September!
Australian Organic Awareness Month (AOAM) has been running since 2014, celebrating the organic industry across all categories, from fresh produce to packaged goods, cosmetics, household products, pet food and more!
We’re very proud that many Mount Zero products are certified organic, undergoing a rigorous testing process to attain this distinction, which involves ensuring that the producer, manufacturer and final product each meet relevant standards, such as the Australian Certified Organic Standard (ACOS) and National Standard for Organic and Bio-dynamic Produce. Some of our certified organic products include Kalamata Olives, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and plenty of our grains, mixes and legumes such as quinoa, falafel mix and black barley.
Did you know that there’s currently no mandatory regulations in Australia surrounding the labelling of products, meaning that items with just 2% organic content can use the term ‘organic’ on their packaging? Australian Organic Awareness Month is a great opportunity to learn more about the distinction between organic and certified organic products, as well as supporting Australian organic producers and retailers near you.
Choosing products which are certified organic can be beneficial to your health, with research suggesting that organic food can be more nutritionally dense than non-organic alternatives. It's also beneficial to our environment, with organic farming reducing the impact from chemical run-off – including nitrogen, phosphorus and pesticides – from farms[1], as well as lowering their greenhouse gas emissions[2]. Organic farming can also lead to healthier soils, capable of storing more carbon – which means less in the atmosphere! You can learn more about the benefits of organic produce on the Australian Organic website.
In addition to our own certified organic products, at Mount Zero we also stock a wide range of certified organic produce from friends and businesses that we admire, including Spitfire Wholewheat Bread Flour, Mabu Mabu Sriracha and Love Tea Immunity Organic Tea Bags – simply look for the ‘Certified Organic’ logo on product pages to see which of your favourites are certified.
You can find the full list of Mount Zero Certified Organic (and also Certified Biodynamic) products here.
[1] Tuomisto, H.L.; Hodge, I.D.; Riordan, P.; Macdonald, D.W. Does organic farming reduce environmental impacts? A meta analysis of European research. J. Environ. Manag. 2012, 112, 309–320.
[2] Hanqin Tian et.al.: A comprehensive quantification of global nitrous oxide sources and sinks. Nature, 2020. Summary Doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2780-0.
