Organic Certification Process

World over the concept of organic food has come about, due to demands from consumers for food without contamination. This essentially means that on the farm synthetic and chemical inputs should not be used for qualifying as an organic produce. In response to consumer demands, many countries have enacted “laws” to regulate organic food production, handling and processing. These laws are commonly known as “Organic Standards”.

Recognizing the importance of certification and traceability, the Foundation introduced IT-enabled group certification systems , aligned with international organic standards. Parallelly, it promoted rural entrepreneurship in organic agri-business and facilitated direct market linkages between producers and traders.

In case of organic certification, as compared to any other quality certification which is entirely based on ‘product testing’ the organic certification is entirely based on ‘process verification’. To understand how they ensure the authenticity of organic claims, it follows a prescribed procedure as follows:

Organic certification process
  • Organic Standards as laws have provisions for appointment of certification agencies. These agencies operate as independent third party verification. They are responsible for ensuring compliances with the criteria prescribed for organic production, handling and processing.
  • Every producer, adopting to be an organic producer, first of all registers his/her production unit–farm, with any one of the accredited certification agency.
  • A producer once registered, also signs a declaration about his/her commitment to follow Organic Standards. These standards could be any one type or more such as INDIA-NPOP, US-NOP, EU-2092/2091, etc.
  • The producer while following Organic Standards also maintains complete records of all the activities and practices followed for production at the farm unit.
  • The certification agency conducts regular, periodical and surprise audits to verify the compliance with the prescribed Organic Standards. A farmer-producer found to be in-compliance with the Organic Standards is issued a Certificate. This certificate authorizes the producer to put a stamp as a mark of compliance with the relevant laws applicable for organic production, processing and handling.

This certification mark on any product is a complete guarantee for the organic quality of a product. Presently the majority of the world trade for organic produce is in compliance with the above certification procedure.