new certification body

New Canadian National Organic Standard Recognizes Thai A.C.T. Organic Certification

With Canada’s National Organic Standard taking affect on June 30, 2009, the Canadian General Standards Board (C.G.S.B.) along with the Standards Council of Canada (S.C.C.) have pursued equivalency agreements with other national standards. These agreements determine the compatibility of one country’s organic standard with another, and are vital to the maintenance of international trade in certified organic goods. While the Canadian Organic Regime (C.O.R.) observes an equivalency agreement with the U.S.D.A. organic standard among others, Thailand presents a different scenario, in the absence of its own national standard.

However, Thai producers targeting the Canadian market will be relieved to learn that the Canadian Organic Regime (C.O.R.) has confirmed the recognition of organic food products from Thailand in the event that they receive certification from one of a number of accreditation bodies. These bodies include Australia Certified Organic, BioAgri-Cert (Italy), Istituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale (Italy), and A.C.T. (Thailand).

“Organic Agriculture Certification Thailand” (A.C.T.) received I.F.O.A.M.accreditation in 2001, and is seen outside of Thailand as a more credible standard than “Organic Thailand”. This is the only Thailand-based accredited certification body recognized by the Canadian General Standards Board, and will act as the regional certification body for organic products from Thailand and Vietnam, intended for the Canadian market.

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/orgbio/cbliste.shtml

Sept., ‘09

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Italy join China

The Italian Consortium for the Control and Certification of Organic Products CCPB recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese inspection and certification body WIT Assessment. A "strategic" deal according to the Consortium's CEO Fabrizio Piva.

WIT certification body is one of the most important in China in both the organic and non organic fields. Its headquarters are based in Hangzhou, near Shanghai. It's a private law body which operates throughout the territory of the People's Republic of China and several other Asian countries within the Chinese influence sphere. It is accredited by the the CNCA (Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China) under the Chinese legislation and it is also accredited and recognized for the HACCP and Chinagap certification, as well as quality management systems, including ISO 9000 and ISO 14000.

With this agreement CCPB provides the Italian production system with the opportunity to certify organic products for the Chinese market by employing Italian inspectors, while CCPB will certify Chinese companies for those standards, such as EU, USDA-NOP, JAS, Canada etc. for which WIT is not accredited yet, by employing the WIT inspectors after appropriate training and qualification.

"This is an important service which may help and encourage the export of our best food and non food products for the Chinese market, such as cosmetics and textiles to organic farming" said Fabrizio Piva, CEO of CCPB. "China is a Country with a growing economy despite the economic crisis and it thus has a great potential to absorb huge quantities of products, as almost 400 million Chinese now have an average annual income that can be compared to the average annual income of Italian citizens" Piva concluded.

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