The Biological Farmers of Australia says consumers have been identified as a lynchpin in monitoring possible substitution of organic ingredients for non-organic counterparts, and in reporting on possible abuse of the Australian Certified Organic (ACO) logo.

A recent report detailed product substitution in the UK, where certified organic oats were swapped for non-organic equivalents containing pesticides.

But BFA says consumer control - in addition to mandatory audits and monitoring - has been effective in eliminating some similar incidents in Australia.

"The feedback and concerns of consumers – particularly those who purchase organic on a regular basis – have provided a number of leads which have on several occasions identified issues that needed addressing," certification reviewer with ACO Greg Paynter said.

He said organic annual audits, and unscheduled audits of 5pc of certified clients, also provided a good level of consumer security.

"Organic auditors can certainly ascertain, from the annual review process, a local region's basic organic production capacity," Mr Paynter said.

"That means they can raise alarm bells when – for example – one producer is harvesting four tonnes per hectare, where the local average is 2t/ha."

He says the results of both risk based and random sampling of on-shelf products also help.

"Products are laboratory tested for traces of prohibited food chemicals, pesticides, and so on to keep industry in check and to protect consumers."

But he says conscientious consumers and industry members remain an integral part of successful organic regulation.

He says if operations deviated from organic standards, it did not take long for other organic industry members or organic consumers to raise concerns for further investigation.

"In a still relatively niche industry, everybody tends to know each other's business and possess a general ethos for the maintenance of organic integrity," Mr Paynter said.

"Consequently, cases of certification non-compliance in Australia are relatively low."