Third-Party Certification

Organic certification is a rigorous, multi-step process:

a)      Companies must submit a detailed application, outlining the nature of their operation, the production/handling processes they use, and the products they produce. This is called an Organic Systems Plan.

b)      Certifiers perform announced and unannounced on-site inspections, during which determine whether companies are in compliance with the National Organic Program. They compare companies’ Organic Systems Plans to practices and procedures that are followed on-site.

c)      Certifiers audit companies’ records (i.e.: of purchases, inputs, ingredients), tracing products from their starting ingredients to their final stages of processing/production.

d)      Companies are issued an official certificate affirming their organic certification.

*Photo courtesy of CCOF