A qualitative meta-synthesis study of the convergence between organic crop regulations in the United States, Brazil, and Europe

Abstract Background Brazil is the world's third biggest exporter of agricultural products and organic food market leader in Latin America. Contribute to this scenario, the large scale national and multinational companies, which act either in organic production or trading. The free trade agreement signed by the Southern Common Market and the European Union in 2019 forecasts Brazilian exports to EU will be close to US $100 billion until 2035. However, small organic producers, whose market niche consists of typical Brazilian products, also looks forward to expanding their business and gain greater economic participation. Unfortunately, these small producers do not have as many opportunities to export and lack the expertise required to manage international trade. Besides the high costs of certification processes, there is the complex task of dealing with the multiple trade laws and customs requirements of each country. Every single law requirement may branch out in several additional ones, written in a language quite often generic and interpretative what makes even harder the task of understand and accomplish certification process. Scope and approach The main scope of this review is to list the regulatory requirements existing in the laws of Brazil, the United States of America, and the European Community for organic foods. The study aims to assess the regulations in each country for organic crops using qualitative meta-synthesis as methodology. This research adds to the knowledge about the supply chain and for international trade of organic foods. Moreover, it helps small Brazilian producers committed to conquering international markets, providing valuable information to professionals interested in understanding the legislation which involves the certified organic food in Brazil. Key findings and conclusions: The use of qualitative meta-synthesis was acceptable, being a taxonomic analysis, facilitating the understanding of the convergences and divergences of the compared normative acts. Based on the current laws of the three countries studied, we realized that the regulatory systems need to follow the global macro trends in the organic market, for a better supply. Countries such as China, India, Australia, and Brazil increasingly offering sustainable products, a single certification system will facilitate access to the world demand for food.