Organic certification provides our customers with the guarantee that our raw materials are of agricultural, natural (and therefore non-chemical) origin, thereby excluding any GMOs, chemical pesticides or herbicides, synthetic fertilisers or sewage sludge. It also ensures farming practices based on crop rotation and greater respect for the environment and animals.
Regarding livestock (our cows), the certification guarantees that no preventive antibiotics or growth hormones have been administered to the cattle, and that they have not been fed animal meal. Furthermore, the animals must have sufficient light, air and space to move naturally. Our cows enjoy vast stretches of pastureland from February to November. These pastures are pictured on our website, along with Louis, one of our farmers.
Organic certification can be obtained with 95% organic components. At Sikou, all our recipes are certified 100% organic. In more practical terms, this certification involves at least two annual inspections: one by appointment, the other unannounced. We must then demonstrate the products used, their storage without risk of contamination, the correspondence between our purchase invoices and our sales, the effectiveness of our traceability system, the checks we carry out on our organic suppliers, and so on. It is not exactly a pleasant experience, but we are in favour of it. Masochistic and in favour...
But organic certification alone is not enough to guarantee good finished products. Organic certification guarantees compliance with a set of standards confirming that the product is wholesome — that is, of natural origin and made from raw materials produced with respect for our environment and for animals. However, organic certification in no way guarantees that the product is made according to the rules of the craft or without substitutes. Because there are good organic finished products and poor organic finished products, just as with any product.
This confusion has often been made. In fact, from an organoleptic (taste) perspective, it is sometimes the non-organic product that will appear more flavourful than the organic product, due to the use of adjuvants, flavour enhancers, sugar, salt or added fat commonly found in the large food industry, and which organic manufacturers will generally tend to avoid. As a result, while organic products may sometimes appear less flavourful, they are decidedly true to the original taste of the product, are healthier and more respectful of the environment and animals. Beyond that, the question of know-how and the choices made in terms of production costs remains, of course, central.