Certification - Comparison of Agencies

Prepping for Certification

Who must be “Certified Organic”?

For a processor to label their product “organic”, an Organic Certification Agency must conduct an inspection and certify that the processor meets all the requirements of the National Organic Program regulation.  This includes operations or portions of operations that process or handle agricultural products that are intended to be sold, labeled, or represented as "100 percent organic," "organic," or "made with organic ingredients" or food group(s).

Who can certify you to be an organic processor?

Certification Agencies
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not itself provide organic certification but instead accredits state, private, and foreign organizations, groups, or persons to become "certifying agents." Organic certifying agencies can be either State Departments of Agriculture (13 states, including Colorado, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Utah, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia) or private certifying agencies.

Note that certifying agencies cannot consult with applicants for certification about ways to overcome certification barriers. This procedure was established to ensure that the decision to certify an operation is made by a person different from the one who conducted the review of documents and on-site inspection. Accordingly, some organic certification agencies have developed separate certification units and separate outreach or education units, the latter of which can consult on such problems. Extension agents, consultants, and others can also consult with applicants for organic certification about certification problems. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship contact person for organic farming questions and private organic farming agencies is

Maury Wills
Bureau Chief
Agricultural Diversity and Market Development Bureau
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
Wallace State Office Building
Des Moines, IA 50309
(515) 281-5783
maury.wills@idals.state.ia.us

International organic standards can vary from each other and from the NOP standards. Complying with all or as many international standards as possible will maximize export marketing opportunities in countries importing organic produce from the U.S. It is important therefore to identify export markets and buyers and their organic standards.

A list of certification agencies that operate in Iowa is available at the link below: 
Certification Agencies in Iowa (xls)

Inspection and certification process

Certifying agents will review applications for certification eligibility. A qualified inspector will conduct an on-site inspection of the applicant's operation. Inspections will be scheduled when the inspector can observe the practices used to process or handle organic products and talk to someone knowledgeable about the operation.

The certifying agent will review the information submitted by the applicant and the inspector's report. If this information shows that the applicant is complying with the relevant standards and requirements, the certifying agent will grant certification and issue a certificate. Certification will remain in effect until terminated, either voluntarily or through the enforcement process.

Annual inspections will be conducted of each certified operation, and updates of information will be provided annually to the certifying agent in advance of conducting these inspections. Certifying agents must be notified by a processor immediately of any changes affecting an operation's compliance with the regulations.

The Certification Process

Applicants must first contact an organic certifying agency to obtain application forms (exampleform), for which agencies normally charge a fee.  Organic certification agencies have websites that provide guidance and information on filling out their application materials.  Most will also have a fee schedule for you to review.  In their applications, all certification agencies will require several items as listed in the NOP.  These will include an organic system plan, organic product profiles, lists of processing aids, sources of water, facility diagram and product flow diagram, and several others.

After the application has been submitted and reviewed, the certification agency may have additional questions which will have to be answered. After review, a qualified inspector will conduct an on-site inspection for a fee, submit a report to the certifying agency, and if complete, the certification agency will grant and issue a certification certificate.

The entire initial certification process can take months to complete, depending on the schedule of the certifying agency and the complexity of the application.  Once certified, processing records must be kept for five years. Annual recertification visits must also be scheduled and related fees paid.

PREPARATIONS FOR CERTIFICATION

Certification of your processing plant for Organic recognition requires that you follow specific guidelines as outlined in the National Organic Program.  Food processing is considered “Handling” by the regulation.  The general flow of the certification process is:

• Become familiar with organic processing requirements as outlined in the National Organic Program.
• Identify the certification agency that you will be using.
• Develop an organic handling/processing plan.
• Fill out the application materials.
• Individual organic product profiles will be required for each organically labeled food.
• An audit trail will be required.  Begin identifying where and who is keeping records pertinent to the flow of the organic ingredients through your operation these will include receiving records, inventory, production records, distribution records, sanitation records.
• Contact your pest control operator to ensure they are aware of your upcoming inspection.
• Inform your personnel that an inspection will be taking place.  If you have specific protocols that your employees follow during a third party inspection, remind your workers.
• Arrange the date and time for the inspection.
• Follow up.

Each of these steps is covered in more detail on these pages.

• National Organic Program (pdf)
• Certification Agencies Certifiers in Iowa (xls)
• Organic processing plan (pdf)
• Example application materials (pdf)
• Example of an organic product profile (pdf)
• Audit trail documentation checklist (pdf)
• Your company should have a pest control operator as a contractor for your organic needs.
• An example of a standard operating procedure for employees handling third party inspections (third party insp.doc)