Certified Organic Coconut Oil:
What Does Certified Organic
Really Mean Here?

Organic coconut oil farming puts greater emphasis on the entire production and distribution chain than the end product itself. For instance, its production standards strongly discourage any use of synthetic chemical inputs such as pesticides, fertilizers, food additives, antibiotics, etc.

Beware of inconsiderate opportunists who would employ unethical marketing tactics. It's so easy to put a label that says "100 percent organic", "certified organic", "made with organic...", etc. Yeah right! Don't let these tricksters fool you.

I've tried at least a few dozen virgin coconut oil brands here in the Philippines. Believe it or not, they're all certified organic according to their labeling. This is unlikely even for a country famous for its high-quality coconut oil.

Certified Organic Tips

Genuine organically certified coconut oil generally costs higher. So if the price is relatively too cheap, it's probably not certified.

Another way of making sure is by smelling and tasting the oil. If it has a mildly sweet fresh coconut aroma and flavor, you most likely have a winner in your hands. But if it smells somewhat sour and/or tastes like cooking oil, forget it.

Does it have a kind of yellowish or brownish color? Oh oh... Certified organic coconut oil should be clear or water white in color.

But what if you've never seen, let alone smelled and tasted a fresh coconut in your life before? How then can you tell the difference?

I suggest you try a few brands at first to familiarize yourself. Buy a freshly opened mature coconut if necessary. It won't take long before you're able to identify and compare their characteristics (scent, taste and color).

What about official logos of certifying bodies on the label, you might ask? I know that misrepresenting these institutions usually carry with them civil and/or criminal repercussions. But apparently, all the logos, emblems, insignias or symbols in the world mean nothing here. It appears to me that, in general, anybody and everybody with enough guts can use them and get away with it, anyway.

Sometimes it all boils down to good old trust and credibility. Do a quick background check on the establishment. The internet is such a powerful tool for finding almost any type of information. You did find my website, right? ;-)

Which is the Certified One?

Because certification is expensive, it is a fact that people are selling copies of their Certified Organic certificates to non-certified organic farmers and producers, who in turn are passing their products off as certified organic coconut oil. So many of the certified organic certificates are copies of copies of copies.

The way to tell which ones are legitimate is to call the certifying agency and check with them to see if the company in question is registered with them.

Naturally Organic

It might comfort you to know that coconut farming is inherently organic, at least here in my country it is. The Department of Agriculture says that 85-90 percent of coconuts in the Philippines are organically grown, anyhow. This truth should offer some relief.