A local certification body may be established as a
private, non-governmental body, a public body or as a combination
of the two. It may be based on a purely private or public
initiative, or on co-operation between various sector players and
interests. In order to ensure that the body can be financially
sound, it is important to ensure that its services are in demand
amongst organic and potential organic operators, and that its
services provide market access at competitive prices. Certification
bodies must comply with the international ISO/IEC Guide 65 in order
to become accredited in international markets. The Guide may be
obtained from national standards organizations. In order for the
certification body to become accredited in relevant international
markets, it must also comply with the specific certification body
requirements of those markets. For instance, for a body to become
recognized in the US, the body must show its competence and
reliability in certifying against the National Organic Standard
applicable in the US. A local certification body may be established
with the assistance and co-operation of an international
certification body or an organization providing technical
assistance on the subject. Documents relevant for the establishment
may be obtained at for instance the International Federation of
Organic Agriculture Movement, IFOAM, www.ifoam.org. Steps and
considerations for the establishment of local certification bodies
are described in different reports. One publication on the subject
is Building Trust in Organics: A Guide to Setting Up Organic
Certification Programmes, written by G. Rundgren and published by
IFOAM in 1997. |