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With organic food, let's preserve nature and the future of our children !
No, organic maple syrup tastes exactly the same as conventional maple syrup. The mere fact that it is organic does not change the taste. On the other hand, the location of the maple grove (sunshine zone, soil quality, etc.) and the temperature during the harvest of the maple water will necessarily be an important factor in the taste of your maple syrup. This is why maple syrup does not necessarily have the same taste from one producer to another and even from one spring to another!
Because you care about the quality of the product you consume. Basically, organic is about making sure that you make maple syrup in a responsible way by preserving the nature that gives us maple water.
In Quebec, there are very precise and controlled specifications for all organic products, including maple syrups and other maple products. This provincial regulation on the organic origin of maple products takes into account several criteria:
In Quebec, the FABQ (Fédération d'Agriculture Biologique du Québec) manages this sector of organic agriculture based on very specific standards :
- provide a minimum 8-meter buffer zone with neighboring parcels in case of contamination
- maintain existing habitats, such as rivers located on the plot
- use natural fertilizers, lime or wood ash to fertilize the soil
- provide ecosystem-friendly landscaping
- have a minimum of 15% of other tree varieties than maple on the plot
- no domestic animals are allowed to roam freely in the maple grove
- not to make more than 3 taps per tree, and to reduce this number in case of young, sick or weak trees.
- materials used in the manufacture of flashlights, tubing and storage containers must meet certain criteria
- the filtration of the maple water must be done before the transformation
- no sterilization of the syrup is allowed
- evaporating utensils must be made of stainless steel
- the only authorized fuels are wood and heating oil
- respect the authorized cleaning products according to the advancement of the sugaring season
Organic maple syrup will be more strictly controlled than its natural counterpart that does not have the organic stamp on its label, and the producer will undoubtedly have been obliged to make some additional investments in order to respect the specifications. This last aspect explains in part the higher average cost of organic maple products.