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IFOAM Accreditation
IFOAM Accreditation is the
truly international verification of competence for certification bodies
active in organic agriculture.
Organic certification bodies
are assessed against the IFOAM Norms which have been developed by the
organic movement itself for a global constituency. This means that the norms
have been developed specifically for the task that you are performing and
with the involvement of those who perform it.
The certification body must
have its own organic standards or be able to use standards from another
organisation which commits to amend the standards where necessary.
Assessment of the reference standards is then part of the process and in
this sense IFOAM accreditation is different from many other
accreditations.
IFOAM accreditation is for
those certification bodies who want to demonstrate their commitment to the
global organic movement, who want to show their support for a harmonised,
common sense conformity assessment system, who want to gain access to use of
the coveted 'IFOAM Accredited' Seal and who want to be a part of the
multi-lateral agreement of the IFOAM accredited certifier group which
facilitates product acceptance amongst certification bodies world-wide.
The process of assessment for all accreditations
harmonised across all our services consists of a document review, followed
by an on-site visit to the certifier premises and sample visits to certified
clients. Once accredited there is on-going surveillance.
Farms and factories certified under an accredited IFOAM
programme may use the combined certification body-IFOAM Accredited logo on
their products.
In 2010 the IFOAM Membership approved a new Organic
Guarantee System which will bring in a number of changes to IFOAM
Accreditation and the norms with which it works. Download the approved
IFOAM New Organic Guarantee System
811kb
The current IFOAM Basic Standard (IBS) is being
transformed into a standard that may be used directly for certification.
This has the possibility to reduce costs for accreditation as CBs will no
longer need to develop and maintain their own standards and the IOAS will
not conduct a standards assessment as part of the accreditation process.
As the standard is being crafted with equivalence to the
major regulations in mind, it will simplify equivalence assessments and
should ease import authorisations, a major concern and burden for many. It
is envisaged that a strong and respected IFOAM certification standard will
play a key role in reducing the current high number of organic standards in
use around the world. The new IFOAM Standard is expected to be available in
late 2011.
The current IFOAM Norms are available from the IFOAM web site in English, Spanish
or French.
Download the current list of
certification bodies accredited by IOAS against IFOAM Norms. Download
the current list of applicants for IFOAM Accreditation
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Last updated:
24/01/2012
 
Accreditation
procedure
38kb
Operating Manual
for IFOAM Accreditation
101kb
Fee schedule
16kb
IFOAM
Accreditation contract sample
23kb
IOAS official notices
'Government authorities can use IFOAM accreditation to ease the burden of
international trade requirements for organic products'
'Las
autoridades gubernamentales pueden utilizar la acreditación IFOAM para
aliviar la carga de los requisitos del comercio internacional de productos
orgánicos'
'Les
autorités gouvernementales peuvent utiliser l'accréditation IFOAM pour
alléger le poids des exigences du commerce international sur les produits
biologiques'
Need arguments for IFOAM accreditation? |
