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The IFOAM Organic Guarantee System |
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The IFOAM Organic Guarantee System Revision
The Organic Guarantee system is currently undergoing a revision. For further information please visit the OGS Revision Section of this website.
Introduction
The IFOAM Organic Guarantee System assures organic
integrity internationally. In the rapidly growing environment of
marketing and trade of products claiming to be "organic," IFOAM provides
a market guarantee of the integrity of organic claims. The
Organic Guarantee System (OGS) unites the organic world through a common
system of standards, verification, and market identity. It fosters
equivalence among participating certifiers, paving the way for more
orderly and reliable trade.
The IFOAM Organic Guarantee System enables organic certifiers to
become "IFOAM Accredited" and for their certified operators to label
products with the IFOAM Seal next to the logo of their IFOAM
accredited certifier. Accreditation is based on the certifier's
compliance with IFOAM norms.
The IFOAM Accreditation Program
The IFOAM Accreditation Program
is a service offered to certification bodies. IFOAM accreditation is
awarded to certification bodies that use certification standards that
meet the IFOAM Basic Standards. Secondly, the certification body itself
must demonstrate compliance with theIFOAM Accreditation Criteria.
Key players in the IFOAM Accreditation Program are IFOAM,
the International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS) and the
IFOAM Accredited Certification Bodies (ACBs).
IFOAM accreditation is carried out under contract by the International Organic Accreditation Service Inc. (IOAS),
a US based organization. IOAS accepts and reviews accreditation
applications, conducts site evaluations, and grants IFOAM accreditation
to compliant applicants.
The Accredited Certification Bodies have implemented a
Multilateral Agreement (MLA) amongst themselves. The MLA creates
multilateral equivalence at the level of the Accreditation Criteria and
the IFOAM Basic Standards. Implementation of the MLA streamlines
certificate acceptance among the certification bodies, and thus helps to
support and ensure orderly market transactions and trade. As an
initiative that is administered by the ACBs, the MLA also supports the
objectives of the IFOAM Organic Guarantee System. If interested please
download the List of IFOAM Accredited Certification Bodies from the website of the IOAS.
The IFOAM Norms
The first two pillars of the Organic Guarantee System are the IFOAM
Basic Standards for Organic Production and Processing (IBS) and the
IFOAM Accreditation Criteria for Certification of Organic Production
and Processing (IAC). Together they are called the IFOAM Norms.
The
IFOAM Basic Standards address the principles, recommendations, and
required baseline standards that guide operators in producing their
organic crops and maintaining organic integrity in the further handling
and processing of organic commodities. The IFOAM Basic Standards have been developed to comply with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards.
The IFOAM Accreditation
Criteria are based on the International ISO norms for the operation of
certifying bodies, and they are additionally developed to reflect the
particular circumstances of certifying organic production and
processing. IFOAM owns and develops these documents.
The IFOAM Norms have an impact beyond the IFOAM Organic
Guarantee System. IFOAM's Basic Standards and Accreditation
Criteria are generally respected as the international guideline from
which national standards and inspection systems may be built; and they
have been used as a reference by standard-setters and legislators in
national and international arenas. Within the Organic Guarantee
System, IFOAM provides a mechanism for the approval of other standards
that are consistent with the IFOAM Basic Standards.
For further information on the Norms please refer to the IFOAM Norms Section of this website.
Norms Contact Point: If you have any questions or comments regarding the IFOAM Norms please contact Ms. Diane Bowen at: d.bowen@ ifoam.org. or the OGS Coordinator at: ogs@ ifoam.org.
The IFOAM Family of Standards
The
other pillar of the IFOAM Organic Guarantee System are national or regional
certification standards approved by IFOAM as being compliant with the IFOAM
Basic Standards. Together all approved regional or national certification
standards constitute the IFOAM Family of Standards. The acceptance of national
or regional certification standards facilitates the accreditation of certifiers
considerably. That is, certification bodies applying an approved regional or
national standard only have to demonstrate compliance with the IFOAM
Accreditation Criteria (IAC). For further information please visit the IFOAM Family of Standards section of this website.
The IFOAM Seal
The IFOAM Seal is a market-oriented mark of compliance with the
IFOAM Norms. The seal may be used on products that are certified by
IFOAM Accredited Certifiers. This mark ensures wholesalers, retailers,
and consumers that a product and its producer are organically
certified within the IFOAM Organic Guarantee System. IFOAM Seal use on
products is implemented through a contract signed between an
Accredited Certifier and the IOAS, and a corresponding contract between
an ACB and its certified parties. For further information about the Seal
please download IFOAMs Policy for Use of the IFOAM Name, Logo and Seal from the OGS Policies Library.
Development of the Organic Guarantee System
IFOAMs OGS Committees play an essential role
in the development and continuous improvement of the Organic Guarantee
System. The Norms Management Committee is responsible for
developing the policis and procedures governing the System. The
Standards Committee develops revisions of the IFOAM Basic Standards in
consultation with stakeholders, and likewise the Criteria Committee
develops revisions of the IFOAM Accreditation Criteria.
IFOAM Policies regarding the OGS
A number of policies (e.g. regarding standards revisions, interpretation
of standards) are of relevance for the OGS. They can be downloaded from
the OGS-Policies Library.
Revision of the IFOAM Organic Guarantee System
The OGS revision project can be divided into two phases, the review and the revision phase.
The decision taken by the WB in November, 2003 to undertake a Review
of the Organic Guarantee System represents the start of the first phase of the revision project. The purpose of the Review was to
identify an Organic Guarantee System that will best implement IFOAM's
mission in the changed global environment, which includes the
proliferation of government regulations, labeling initiatives
(including those within powerful private supply chains), and the rapid
growth of all organic sectors including the number of certifiers.
The review phase ended with the approval of a WB motion by the General Assembly, in September 2005, in which the WB proposed the general direction and concrete steps for a revision of the OGS. The GA decision to approve the proposal simultaneously represents the start of the second, the revision, phase.
IFOAM members can find further information and documents related to the Review and Revision phase on the OGS section of the IFOAM intranet.
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