Brief Introduction Standard Inspection Program

Brief Introduction to Requirements for Export of Organic Food

according to the European Regulation (EEC) 2092/91, the US NationalOrganic Program (NOP), and CERES standard interpretation

1. Export of organic food:

• Must assure traceability and transparency.

• Requires a good documentation system.

2. Who needs to be certified as organic exporter:

Different interpretations exist in this regard:

	Certification required according to…
	EU-Regulation	NOP
Customs handlers, who do not become owners of the product	No	No
Brokers or exporters who buy and sell the product, without repacking or relabelling it	Yes, according to most EU authorities	No
Handlers who repack or label the product	Yes	Yes

3. Origin of organic products:

• Exporters must be sure to hold a copy of valid organic certificates from all their suppliers

• Only products from EU certified suppliers can be sold to the organic EU market, while products for the US market must be NOP certified.

4. For exporters who repack or label:

• Actually, packing or labelling are considered as "processing" operations; for this reason, exporters in this category should refer to our "short information for processors".

5. Exporters who do not pack or label:

• Exporters in this category must fulfil all requirements under points (5), (6), and (7) of our "short information for processors", concerning documentation, traceability, and labelling.

Please be aware that this is only a selection of essential requirements of the organic standards, meant as an introduction. The operator, of course, has to learn about and meet all requirements of the respective standard.

Standard Inspection Program for Organic Export

according to the European Regulation (EEC) 2092/91, the US National Organic Program (NOP), JAS, and CERES standard interpretation

As a minimum, the inspection of export operations will cover the following aspects:

No	Issue	Text
1	Review	of the organic management plan and its implementation.
2	Physical inspection	Visit to all storage rooms, packing or labelling units (if existing) including subcontracted units, focussing on: • Origin of organic products • Separation (in time or space) from non-certified products throughout the whole process, from product reception to final sale or delivery • Cleaning and pest control procedures (if relevant) • Possible contact with prohibited or otherwise polluting substances (if relevant) • Labelling and traceability
3	Records	• Drawing of the unit, including eventual subcontracted units (relevant only in case that products are stored, labelled, or packed) • Flow chart, describing the process(es) (relevant only in case that products are stored, labelled, or packed) • Copies of valid certificates of all organic providers • Records on all purchases of organic products • Storage books (if relevant) • Packing protocols (if relevant) • Pest control protocols (if relevant) • Records on outgoing organic products • Bookkeeping • Chapters on handling of organic products from quality manual (if existing) • List of providers of organic products • List of clients for organic products
4	See also	• CERES policies on: o Traceability o Pesticide residues and sampling frequency o Pest control in processing units • Brief information on organic export • Management plan organic export

Please be aware, that these are the minimum requirements. In many cases, additional issues will have to be included in the inspection schedule!

Brief Introduction to Requirements for Export of Organic Food

according to the European Regulation (EEC) 2092/91, the US NationalOrganic Program (NOP), and CERES standard interpretation

Certification required according to…

Standard Inspection Program for Organic Export

according to the European Regulation (EEC) 2092/91, the US National Organic Program (NOP), JAS, and CERES standard interpretation

No

Issue

Text