Brexit and UK Certifiers - Understanding your options
Given that the Brexit situation remains uncertain in many regards, including how these changes will affect organic compliance of products produced and certified in the UK, we want to ensure that you are aware of and understand your options in terms of organic product certification that will be accepted in various global markets.
IOAS offers assessment services for EU Equivalent Certification Programs. All certification bodies who have clients outside the EU with products destined for EU markets must demonstrate that they implement a control system and use a production standard which has been assessed as equivalent to the rules applied inside Europe. Certification bodies are assessed against the control requirements set down in Regulation (EC) 834/2007 and its various implementing regulations. The IOAS’ role in this program is as an assessor and we make a recommendation on equivalence. The European Commission is the ultimate decision-maker.
IOAS is also approved by the CFIA to provide assessment services for the Canada Organic Regime (COR). IOAS performs assessment of certification bodies according to ISO 17065 and the COR Operating Manual requirements, and make a recommendation for accreditation to CFIA, who is the ultimate decision maker. The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) and the Canadian Organic Regime (COR) have an organic standards equivalency agreement, which means that products from anywhere in the world certified to Canadian standards may also be shipped to the United States and use the USDA NOP logo as long as the product meets the critical requirements. You can find more information on these and all of our service offerings on our website.
Change in requirements for CBs working in Mexico
SENASICA, the authorities in Mexico has released Oficio Circular No. 16/2018 in reference to the organic operation of the agricultural activities carried out in Mexican territory, certified under private and / or official standards of other countries.
The notice indicates that all certified organic all certified organic operators in Mexico must be certified against the Ley de Productos Organicos (LPO) regardless of whether the products are only for export. Producers have 120 days to register with an approved CB from 27 August 2018. Details of approved CB information.
EU- Chile included in Annex III (EC) No 1235/2008 July 2018
As a consequence of the inclusion of Chile in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008, the relevant control bodies recognised until now for the import of products from categories A, D or F from Chile should continue to be recognised in respect of Chile for those product categories, except for the products falling within the scope of the trade agreement. More information is available from the ec.europa.eu website.
Safe Food for Canadians Regulations for 2019
The final Safe Food for Canadians Regulations have been published.They will replace the existing 14 sets of regulations with one. The regulations will come into force on January 15, 2019.
Some requirements will have to be met immediately upon coming into force, while others will be phased in over a period of 12-30 months based on food commodity, type of activity and business size e.g.Organic aquaculture products will not need to be certified under the SFCR until January 15, 2021.
The period between the final publication of the regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part II (CGII) and coming into force will give businesses time to familiarize themselves with and prepare for the new requirements, including licensing, traceability and preventive controls.
Learn more about the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
The IOAS will also be present at the Annual face to face meeting between CVBs and CFIA that will take place on Nov 27 and 28 in Ottawa.
COSMOS V3 requirements
The new standards and requirements for implementing the COSMOS V3 scheme must be applied from January 1, 2019. The IOAS requires each of our accredited COSMOS CBs to submit on or before September 30, 2018 a plan of action plan, including but not limited to the following items, and indicating implementation dates prior to December 31, 2018.
- Review the changes highlighted by COSMOS;
- Bring their documents and quality systems in general into line with these changes;
- Provide appropriate training to relevant personnel.
Please note also the incorporation of compliance with ISO/IEC 17065 into the COSMOS requirements which may require changes, even for those CBs that are already accredited under this norm for a different scope.
You can find more information on the COSMOS V3 standard here.
The IOAS welcomes three new Client Managers
Dániel Szalai - Dániel's roots in agriculture and the environment began with beekeeping on his family’s farm in Hungary. Since then he has gone on to become highly qualified in environment studies, quality, international food chain and agricultural management. Alongside his impressive qualifications he has developed a thorough working knowledge and understanding of the industry, participating globally in all roles of the certification and accreditation processes and conformity assessments. Dániel began working with the IOAS in September 2018.
Quynh Vo - Quynh has a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science and past employment experience in quality control and accreditation where she gained extensive operational experience in third party certification and accreditation. Working with clients and auditors has given Quynh insight and understanding of other’s needs alongside her valuable experience in food safety auditing. Quynh started work with the IOAS in September 2018 and enriches the IOAS team with her significant knowledge in food science, food safety and quality assurance.
Andreas Georgakakis - Andreas commenced his career as an inspector and moved on to working with a number of private standards and certification schemes, collaborating with many international CBs. Through undertaking additional responsibilities his experience in inspection, certification and accreditation procedures has grown and his support of the Organic movement was recognised (Andreas was elected as an IFOAM EU Council member and he was also selected as an IFOAM EU representative at two of the European Commission’s DG AGRI Civil Dialogue Groups). Andreas brings a wealth of understanding and knowledge to the IOAS and began working with us in October 2018.
For further information on any topics presented here, please contact info@ioas.org
Best regards,
The IOAS team
