Brief Introduction Standard Inspection Program

Brief Introduction to Requirements for Organic Wild Collection

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

1. What organic wild collection means:

Must be sustainable
Must not damage the environment
Must be performed in unpolluted areas and and on clean places
Must be well documented and the product can be traced back to its origin.

2. Sustainability:

Overcollection of the species must be avoided
Red list or otherwise threatened species must not be collected
Damage to the plants must be reduced to a minimum
As a general rule, not more than 60 % of flowers and leaves, not more than 70 % of fruits, and not more than 5 % of roots or barks must be collected from each site; this percentage may be higher for some species, but much lower for others
The company must do an assessment of available resources of the collected species
The responsible entity must set up detailed collection rules for all species.

3. Environmental damage:

Collection must not destroy or threaten the habitat or feed for other organisms
Collectors must not leave behind litter, contribute to forest fire, illegal hunting, etc.

4. Unpolluted areas and places:

Collection must not take place

Close to bigger cities, industrial centers, and nuclear facilities

Close to roads:

Vehicles per 5 minutes	< 3	3 – 15	16 – 50	51 – 100	> 100
Distance to be kept (m)	none	25	50	100	200

On conventional crop or grassland
In woodlands, where forest insecticides have been used during the past 3 years
Within a distance of 20 m from conventional fields where pesticides are sprayed (50 m in case of fruit orchards with high pressure sprayers)
Close to litter dumps (20 to 100 m, according to the size of the dump), railways, and other local sources of pollution.

5. Collectors training and supervision:

Collectors must be adequately trained concerning harvesting techniques, maximum harvest quantities (see 2), environmental damage (see 3), suitable collection places (see 4)
Implementation of these rules must be supervised by the responsible entity; this can be achieved best, when collection takes place in organised groups.

6. Records, traceability, and labels:

The responsible company or person has to present an organic management plan
A detailed map (preferably 1 : 50.000, but not smaller than 1 : 250.000) of the collection region must be presented; collection places, wholesale points, and critical areas (see 4) must be marked on the map
Records on purchased, stored, transported, and sold quantities must be kept at all levels
Operators should strive for traceability at least until the level of local collection points
All stored, transported, and sold products must be adequately labelled, labels including information on product, quantity, origin, packing date, organic condition, and certifier
In addition, JAS requires "grading" records: before selling products with the jas logo, the producer has to double-check and record fulfilment of JAS standards.

7. Post harvest handling, cleanness:

Contact with polluting substances must be avoided during post harvest management (transport, drying, freezing, storing, etc.)
Possible pollutants include detergents, desinfectants, rodenticides, fumigants, wood preservants, etc.
During harvest and at all post harvest levels, products must be handled in adequate sanitary conditions.

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 Processors

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 wild collection operations will cover the following aspects:

No	Issue	Text
1	Review	of the organic management plan and its implementation.
2	Physical inspection	Visits to a representative number of places, where wild products are harvested, according to the scheme established in the CERES Wild Collection Policy. These visits address, among others: Delimitation of collection sites and areas Confirmation of company’s resource assessment for different species. Eventual damage to plants and the environment by collectors. Local and regional sources of pollution. Risk of collection from conventional farm or grassland. Risk of collection from pastures, where animals graze (NOP). Level of collectors’ knowledge and awareness. Visits to local wholesale points, according to the scheme established in the CERES Wild Collection Policy, and to central warehouses and processing facilities (e.g. drying or freezing plants), focussing on: Records (see below), labelling, traceability Product flow (are purchased and delivered quantities consistent?) Post-harvest sources of pollution (facility pest management, disinfection, cleaning, etc.)
3	Records	Maps of the collection region (the best size is 1:50.000, but it should not be smaller than 1:250.000). The maps should highlight: Collection places for different species, Wholesale points and processing plants, Sources of pollution (conventional farming areas, roads, industry, forest areas treated with pesticides, litter dumps, railways, etc.) Documentation on forest insecticide and herbicide use in the region (normally, the original documents at the forest protection department should be reviewed by the inspector, not only a confirmation on non-use). Records on incoming, stored, and outgoing products at different levels (local wholesalers, central warehouses, processors, etc.). This must include a list of collectors, or, at least, a purchase list at the local wholesale points, where dates, names, and delivered quantities are detailed. Waybills for transports. Rules for good collection practice developed by the company, for each species. Records on collectors' training and supervision. Records on resource assessment for different species, if available. In case of central warehouses and processing units: List of raw material providers and of clients of organic products
	Please be aware, that these are the minimum requirements. In many cases, additional issues will have to be included in the inspection schedule!
	See also	CERES Policy Wild Collection CERES Policy on Pest Control in Processing Plants Brief Information on Wild Collection Management Plan Wild Collection.