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The IFOAM Accreditation Program |
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IFOAM Accreditation is primarily a means of ensuring fair and
orderly trade of organic products. It is in this sense a service
for the trade and producers as well as for certifiers. IFOAM Accreditation facilitates equivalency of organic certification
bodies worldwide by confirming whether they meet IFOAM's international
norms.
The IFOAM Accreditation Program is a service within the IFOAM Organic Gurantee System that is offered to
certification bodies. The IFOAM Basic Standards along with the IFOAM
Accreditation Criteria (together called The IFOAM Norms) establish the
requirements for certification bodies seeking IFOAM accreditation. IFOAM
accreditation is awarded to certification bodies that use certification standards that meet the IFOAM
Basic Standards. Additionally, the certification body itself must
demonstrate compliance with the IFOAM Accreditation Criteria, which are
requirements for how certification is conducted.
IFOAM accreditation is carried out by the International Organic Accreditation Service Inc. (IOAS) under an Agreement with
IFOAM. Although it operates as an independent body, the IOAS is a
key component of the Organic Guarantee System. It accepts and
reviews accreditation applications, conducts site evaluations, and
grants IFOAM accreditation to compliant applicants. IOAS also
administers the IFOAM Seal, and together with IFOAM, it promotes the
IFOAM Accreditation Program.
For further information on the IFOAM Accreditation program please visit the IOAS Website.
For further information on the Organic Guarantee System and the IFOAM Norms please visit the Organic Guarantee System Section of the IFOAM website.
The IFOAM ACB Group
In 1996, the precursor to the IOAS, the IFOAM Accreditation Programme
Board (IAPB), organized the first of a series of client meetings and
certifier days for IFOAM accredited certification bodies (ACB’s).
Following this, the ACBs as a group decided in the late 1990's to take
the responsibility for organizing meetings and establishing the basic
rules of procedure for its functioning as a group. Since then, the
ACB's have continued to meet at least once a year for three days.
The
aim of the ACB Group is to support its members on issues relating to
accreditation through education and sharing of ideas; to affect public
policy on issues relating to organic certification and accreditation
issues; and to educate the public on issues relating to the
aforementioned purposes.
One of the major achievements of the group was the signing of a
multilateral agreement (MLA) between its members in October 1999 with
simultaneous signings at conferences in Italy and the USA. The MLA
allows for open trade between operators that are certified by the
signatories of the MLA.
For further information please contact the coordinator of the ACB group, Mr. Brian Kozisek at: bkozisek@ ocia.org.
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