Introduction

CERES carries out organic inspections and certifications according to different governmental standards such as regulation EEC 2092/91, USDA-NOP Final Rule, Japanese Agricultural Standard for the production of organic Foodstuff (JAS). Additionally, CERES provides inspection services to several national or international private standards of farmers' associations or certification bodies (such as Demeter, Naturland, BIO SUISSE, QAI, etc.). With Soil Association Certification CERES signed a "Contract for Symbol Programme Product Acceptance".

To enable our clients quick access to the requirements of the respective organic standard(s), CERES worked out two types of documents:

•     Brief Information papers

•     Standard Inspection Programs

Brief information papers are intended to give interested persons or companies an overview of the respective standards. These short documents can, of course, not provide exhaustive information on the respective subject.

Standard Inspection Programs are intended to give an overview of issues that will be regularly subject of the inspection.

Both types of documents will be submitted to operators, who ask for the first time for certification.

The following areas of operation are covered by this system of "Brief Information" papers and "Standard Inspection Programs":

•     Crop Production

•     Mixed and Parallel Production

•     Animal husbandry

•     Wild Collection

•     Beekeeping

•     Producer Groups

•     Processing

•     Export

•     Import

•     NOP

•     JAS

Attention: In our Document Counter you will find further introducing information under the pdf-file "Steps to Organic Certification ".