Kashi Unveils 'Certified Transitional' Branding for Soon-To-Be Organics

The branding may give more farms incentive to go organic

Healthy cereal giant Kashi has some ideas about how producers working to gain organic status can let consumers know they're pursuing that coveted label, according to CNBC. Kashi teamed up with Quality Assurance International (QAI) to develop a new standard, which will be called "certified transitional," per a release.

The United States requires farms that want to gain organic certification to spend three years implementing organic practices into their businesses. Currently, less than 1 percent of U.S. farmland is certified organic.

With this new standard, farms will take on a kind of "organics-in-training" status, and QAI will assess goods to determine whether the producers are making progress toward organic. If QAI approves, the goods will be given "Certified Transitional" status. Because goods in transition cannot be sold under an organic label, the idea is that as producers attempt to gain organic certification, their efforts will not go unrecognized.

"Through Certified Transitional, we are helping to create a marketplace to drive more organic farmland," a website dedicated to the initiative reads. "It reduces the uncertainty farmers face and provides them with a market and greater financial security. So the easier it is for them to transition their land, the more likely they'll be to do it."

Kashi is launching its own transitional product, which will be a Dark Cocoa Karma Shredded Wheat Biscuits cereal, due out in June. This comes as Costco is launching an organic fast food offensive with a restaurant called "The Organic Coup," and as health food chains such as Sweetgreen, which is known for its organic salads, stand poised for large-scale expansions.

from Eater - All http://ift.tt/1OAnFhI
via IFTTT