PROCEDURE OF AN ORGANIC AUDIT ACCORDING TO REGULATION (EU) 2018/848
HOW DOES AN AUDIT WORK?
Companies that produce, trade in or produce organic food themselves are generally subject to certification.
In the following, we describe which categories are subject to certification, what costs are incurred and how an audit with GSCI proceeds.
The organic audit as an opportunity
Of course, an audit situation can be associated with tension. Therefore, a cooperative and transparent working relationship and a friendly tone on both sides are important.
It is the auditor’s task to check whether the respective company meets the requirements of the EU Eco Regulation. If deviations are found, this is always an opportunity for the company to improve its own processes.
WHAT DOES GSCI CERTIFY?
According to the regulations VO (EU) 2018/848 and applicable implementing regulations, the following categories are certified by GSCI:
Agricultural production
Plants and plant products from agricultural production or from the collection of wild plants, animals and animal products without apiculture and without the production of aquaculture animals and seaweed.
Production of processed food
Units for the preparation of plant and animal products and foodstuffs from plant and animal products.
Trade
Retail, warehouse and online marketing (except for the dispensing of pre-packaged products at retail).
Import
Importation of plants and plant products, animals, animal products and foodstuffs from plant and/or animal products, feed, compound feed and feed materials from third countries
Subcontracting of activities to third parties
Entities producing, preparing or importing organic products and subcontracting part or all of the related operations to third parties
AUDIT ON-SITE
An on-site organic audit is essentially based on the following elements:
The inspection of the company, during which it is examined whether the necessary precautions have been taken in the company and whether there are suitable and clearly labeled ingredients in the warehouse.
Inspection of the accounting records, which mainly relates to the traceability of the flow of goods.
Finally, the finished products on sale and the labels are checked for coherence.
The organic audit is documented by the auditor, the entrepreneur confirms the audit result after completion by his signature and receives a copy of the audit report.
CERTIFICATION
Following the audit, the auditor prepares a report with the results of the inspection.
Possible deviations from the requirements of the regulation are listed in this report.
If there are deviations from the EU Organic Regulation, corrective measures and deadlines for rectifying the deviation are defined. In a final meeting, the individual points are explained by the auditor.
The report is reviewed and evaluated by another person. After the audit has been completed, or after submission of evidence of the corrective measures taken, a new organic certificate is issued or an existing one is extended.
With this certificate, the company can document to business partners that the company can produce, process or market organic products.
GSCI Services is obliged to carry out unannounced spot checks. These are usually much shorter than the annual inspections and address individual points from the EU Organic Regulation.
WHAT IS THE COST OF ORGANIC CERTIFICATION?
The duration of the organic audit depends strongly on the size, preparatory work and complexity of the farm. Careful bookkeeping can help to shorten the audit time and thus reduce the audit costs, especially in smaller farms.
On average, the costs are between 350 and 950 € net/year.
In addition, there may be possible costs for legally required unannounced spot checks, sampling and other services that are not directly related to the annual audit.
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GSCI Services GmbH
Axel-Springer-Platz 3
20355 Hamburg
Germany
+49 (0) 40 22866175 0
kontakt@gsci-services.de
GSCI Services GmbH
DE-ÖKO-072
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