Controls and certification are key pillars of trust in organic production. In the European Union and for products entering the European market, they are mainly defined by Regulation 834/2007, which is currently under revision.
Certification is a voluntary process for the operator which would like to obtain a standard for its products, recognizing that they are made in compliance with the rules of this standard. In their control activity, our members inspect operators (farmers, processors, traders, importers) willing to obtain organic certification for their products. Specific requirements are listed in the respective organic regulations (EU, USA, Japan…). In addition to these requirements, control bodies and authorities develop their own tools to reach the most performant controls. Regulation 834/2007 provides for at least a control every year for operators willing to obtain an EU organic certification. These controls are made by control bodies or authorities which are themselves accredited. The acquisition of EU-certification is made recognizable through the EU-logo, also called Euro-leaf. The name or the code of the control authority or the control body which carried out the control is also mentioned on the label.