Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food processors, retailers and restaurants.

French Cert-UK is a nationally and internationally operating, certification body established in UK and having its additional administrative office in India. It is accredited by AB-CAB, an independent board, as per norms and requirement developed by AB-CAB for Organic Production in consultation with international agencies and national requirement. Furthermore, French Cert-UK offers Organic certification as per Organic Certification standards for products destined for export internationally. AB-CAB Accreditation Body provide accreditation as per ISO65/ EN45011 to carry out certification of products according to Organic Standard (equivalent to EC Reg. No.834/2007 and 889/2008) for Non EU country operators in the field of:

1.     Plant Production,

2.     Feed Production,

3.     Feed Processing,

4.     Aquaculture and

5.     The export of these products

According to the regulation of importing countries. AB-CAB is not yet listed as certification body by European Union but AB comply to the requirements of organic standard for Non EU country operators (equivalent to EC regulation 834/2007& 889/2008). French Cert-UK is accredited as per ISO 17021 & ISO 22003 by AB-CAB.

Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soil, ecosystem and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and biological cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of synthetic inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality life for all involved. All over the world, standards are developed by different countries for organic production to monitor and control organic trade. The choice of the most appropriate organic certification standard depends mainly on the final market of the organic product. The products must be certified based on those standards required by the importing countries in order to market them as “organic". French Cert-UK organic crop production certification services will provide you with a reliable and cost effective certification to facilitate the strategic positioning of your organic products in the global organic markets.

Procedure for the Certification mainly as followings: The steps followed by French Cert-UK for certification are stated below:

1.     Submission of application

2.     Cost Estimation

3.     Invoicing and payment of fees

4.     Signing of inspection contract

5.     Inspection and submitting the inspection report to the certification department

6.     Issuance of certification decision

7.     Compliance of certification decision and issuance of certificate

8.     Issue of Transaction Certificates/Inspection Certificates for traded lots

According to all the organic regulations one annual inspection is compulsory for all the clients.

Detailed application procedure are as following:

Initial Application.

As the initial step for getting certification, the operator (the person responsible for the unit to be certified)has to contact the French Cert-UK office. Upon request French Cert-UK sends a detailed application package including the application form and procedure for French Cert-UK certification. To apply for certification the operator needs to complete the application form and submit the filled in application form to the French Cert-UK office.

Pre-inspection procedure

After receiving the filled in application form, French Cert-UK shall sends an offer for inspection and certification along with the scale of fees. On accepting the offer, the operator needs to send 75 % of the offer fees as advance.

Inspection

On receipt of the advance payment, French Cert-UK, in consultation with the operator, fixes the date and time for inspection. Prior to the inspection the operator must sign the inspection and certification contract. During the inspection, the French Cert-UK inspector will inspect your operational activities with regard to your compliance with the selected organic standards. Specific questions about procedures to be taken to ensure compliance can be discussed at that point. At the end of the inspection, the findings will be discussed and documented in the inspection report. The operator acknowledges the inspection report with his/her signature and receives a copy of the same. The original inspection report will be forwarded to French Cert-UK office for further certification process.

Financial Settlement

After inspection, the total inspection and certification costs are finalized and an account is sent to the operator. The operator must send the remaining amount of the final invoice to French Cert-UK.

Certification Decision

Upon receipt of the full payment, French Cert-UK will review the inspection report and the file will be acquiesced to the certification committee. If additional documents are required, a e-mail will be sent to the operator.

Certification decision

The certification committee will take the certification decision based on the available documentation. Certification decisions will be intimated within two months after the inspection report, payment and relevant documents (if any) has been received at French Cert-UK.

Appeals

If the operator does not accept the certification decision, he/she can request for review of the decision in writing. Then the case will be submitted to the certification committee for re-consideration. If the operator still does not reach agreement with the revised decision, he/she can appeal to the appeals committee in writing within 30 days of the announcement of certification decision. The file will then be submitted to the appeals committee, which takes final decision on the matter.

How much does it cost to become certified organic?

Certification costs differ be contingent on the size of your production operation and on the accredited agency you elect to use. Normally, organic certification costs run between $500 – $1500. Your costs will include an application fee, but site inspection fee shall depend on the product and sites.