CERES' Policy

No	Issue	Text
1	Aims	This policy aims at safeguarding confidentiality of information provided by operators to CERES, improving so the relationship of confidence between both.
2	Back­ground	The relationship certifier – certified operator is based on mutual confidence. Potential misuse of information by the certification body will put at risk this relation­ship, and challenge correct certification procedures. On the other hand, stakeholders in organic or other specialty markets have a legitimate interest in ex­change of information, which should not be obstructed by the certification body.
3	Norma­tive frame­work	EN 45011 defines: 4.10.1: The cortication body shall have adequate arrangements consistent with applicable laws to safeguard confidentiality of the information obtained in the course of its certification activities at all levels of its organization, including committees and external bodies or individuals acting on its behalf. 4.10.2: Except as required in this Standard or by law, information gained in the course of certification activities about a particular product or supplier shall not be disclosed to a third-party without the written consent of the supplier. Where the law requires information to be disclosed to a third-party, the supplier shall be informed of the information provided as permitted by law. NOP says: 205.501 (a): A private or State entity accredited as a certifying agent under this subpart must: (10) Maintain strict confidentiality with respect to its clients under the applicable organic certification program and not disclose to third parties (with the exception of the Secretary or the applicable State program’s governing State official or their authorized representatives) any business-related information concerning any cli­ent obtained while implementing the regulations in this part, except as provided for in § 205.504(b)(5); § 205.504: A private or State entity seeking accreditation as a certifying agent must submit the following documents and information…: (b) (5) A copy of the procedures to be used for making the following information available to any member of the public upon request: (i) Certification certificates issued during the current and 3 preceding calender years; (ii) A list of producers and handlers whose operations it has certified, including for each the name of the operation, type(s) of operation, and the effective date of the certification, during the current and 3 preceding calender years; (iii) The results of laboratory analyses for residues of pesticides and other prohib­ited substances conducted during the current and 3 preceding calender years; and (iv) Other business information as permitted in writing by the producer or han­dler…
4	Terms	None
5	Policy
	•        CERES will never hand out inspection reports to persons or entities other than the competent state authorities, or the accreditor, without the client's written agreement. •        To comply with § 205.504 (b) (5), CERES will publish the names of all NOP-certified opera­tors on its homepage. In the case of non-NOP certifications, CERES will publish names and addresses of the operators only as permitted in writing by the client. •        Clients will be asked about their agreement for disclosing certain information about their opera­tions, for special purposes (see 7.2.3), when signing the certification contract. Disclo­sure of information by CERES to third parties will be strictly limited to the issues and pur­poses defined in this agreement. The client can revoke this agreement at any time. •        Inspectors or other CERES staff is not authorized to inform third parties (except for the compe­tent state authorities or the accreditor), about confidential data related to clients. This refers especially to: o      Non-conformities detected during inspections o      Economic data, like prices, turnovers, balances, etc. o      Uncommon techniques, especially those developed by the operator him/herself.
6	Access to this policy	•        This policy is available to all interested public •        It must be handed out to all CERES certification and inspection personnel