Information for AFRISCO's clients
Afrisco certification provides a service to operators which assists them to keep to international norms for organic production, and to profit from the price premium that consumers are willing to pay. Similarly, it provides a service to consumers by its assurance that the certified produce they purchase has genuinely been produced by organic means.
The only way that this service may remain viable is through absolute integrity of the inspection and certification processes, and through constant attention by clients to their own quality management. Afrisco therefore has to insist on a set of firm ground rules with its clients, which form a part of the contract between the parties . These rules may protect operators, independent inspectors and Afrisco itself. They are set out in three sections below: organic production, inspections, and your contract with Afrisco.
Keep in mind that an organic system is an active management system, striving for long-term sustainable management of natural resources, and the ongoing building of soil nutrients. That is much more than the non-use of chemicals, or “organic-by-neglect.” A farmer needs to maintain or increase the fertility of the soil and tackle pests, diseases and weeds using methods that are acceptable in terms of the organic standards.
Similarly, organic management does not stop in the field. It includes careful attention to handling and storage and transport, to maintain organic integrity, and to minimise microbial hazards. Cleanliness and good order are the basis of reducing microbial food safety hazards .
Set up a system for auditing your own risks and hazards throughout the year, so that we can see how you have reacted to difficulties in the management system. Our job is to verify your own quality system, which should operate throughout the year as a formal, documented management system with regular checks to improve efficiency and quality.
Make sure you know the relevant standards. The inspector needs to be convinced that operators have the required knowledge, commitment, equipment, buildings, and record-keeping systems to be able to comply with the organic standards.
Keep your operational records, audit trails and financial records up-to-date. This includes your records of all purchased inputs, by description, origin and price, and records of all sales. Good record-keeping practices are an important part of any certified system, and this must apply also to agricultural activities.
Notify Afrisco if you make any changes to the organic production system, or you introduce new production line. This may necessitate an additional inspection, or just a new affidavit from the operator if Afrisco is satisfied that there is no substantial change to the farming system. You MUST get approval before making changes, or your certification will be negated.
Changes in your production system may also require an amended certificate: for instance if you take a field out of organic production. There may be times also when a certificate needs to be extended. ALWAYS inform us of changes or possible changes so that we keep the certificate accurately and relevantly reflecting your organic production. You may not sell organic produce after making any production changes until they have been approved in writing (usually as email).
Farmers are expected to monitor soil fertility through annual soil analyses, which should include carbon content. (Increasing carbon content in soils over time through good organic management and planting trees are two things you can do to slow global warming.) Please provide a representative mix of soil from 6 areas on the farm that are under organic management. The total sample weight is to be 1 kg, which should be collected in a washed plastic bag (unless the lab provides an alternative collection bag) and then dispatched to an accredited laboratory (accredited to ISO 17025). In South Africa we can recommend Hearshey & Kinnes at UCT but there are several others. Then make a copy available to the inspector.
Note in the organic standard the issue of “parallel” production (Section 4.4). It is important that you understand this. If you produce both organic and conventional products on the same farm – which we do not recommend – they must be of different varieties, and visually distinguishable. It is not only you and us who must be able to see that they are different, but every worker on your farm, so that they can never be mixed. The same holds if you have some fully organic production and some production in conversion to organics. You must also ensure that accurate production estimates are available of all farm production and can be checked against sales records. If ever a circumstance is found where an exception is granted to these conditions, it will require that the number of annual inspections is raised.
Similar requirements must be met for “split” production. This is where some complete production areas are organic (e.g. all citrus) and other farm activities are either conventional or in conversion (e.g. dairying, or strawberry production). Your documentation throughout each enterprise (production, processing, storage and sales) must be well managed and make clear distinctions between certified and non-certified products. The methods taken to safeguard against risk to organic integrity must be understood by all workers throughout the system, so training will be a requirement.
Inspectors are contracted by Afrisco for each inspection. If an operator does not wish to be inspected by the assigned inspector for some reason, this should be raised with Afrisco BEFORE the inspection.
Afrisco will pay the inspectors. Applicants should not provide any monetary or other reward to the inspectors at any time.
Inspectors act as agents of Afrisco, and are required to maintain complete confidentiality of all information provided during the inspection, passing it to the administration after the report has been written.
Where there is parallel or split production at an enterprise (i.e., both organic and non-organic production on one farm), the inspector will need to inspect both systems, in order to assess how far the organic operation is affected by the non-organic operation, and the risk of contamination.
The non-organic operations on neighbouring farms are also of concern to the inspector, and may require you to keep some distance between these and your own organic operations. It is useful to request neighbouring enterprises to sign an affidavit (which Afrisco will provide) concerning their operations.
The inspector may not offer consultancy advice to any operator. For instance, s/he may point out that an audit trail needs to be set up, but may not assist in its design. If that were to occur, the next time that inspector were to inspect the operation, s/he would be inspecting his/her own work, which would automatically lead to bias. This rule is an important one, in terms of ISO 65 rules on certification, which form the basis of our international acceptability and reputation.
Operators must accept random inspections without warning at any time (or warning the previous evening only), and they must accept soil residue and water residue tests whenever they are requested. These can be a nuisance for operators, but it should keep in mind that certified organic enterprises in all countries are subject to the same requirement, and there is advantage in being certified to international standards.
Inspectors are required to investigate non-compliance and the possibility of fraud. This is not a reflection of your management practices, but a necessary routine. Please accept it as a contribution to your – and our – market acceptability.
Inspectors will enquire about your own quality system, and how you run checks (internal audits) to identify problem areas and to work out improvements, and whether improvement actions have been implemented.
Inspectors will require farm and field maps and histories (of land and animals) and soil and water tests or, in the case of processing operations, diagrams of equipment and flow diagrams. It is useful to have these prepared before they arrive. Similarly, make sure that you have up-to-date records prepared, before the normal annual inspection, on the following:
Origin, nature and quantities of inputs delivered to the unit
Origin, nature and recipients of consignments leaving the unit
Any other information on ingredients, additives and manufacturing aids, required to allow proper inspection.
Under ISO 65 guidelines, the inspector’s report will not make a specific recommendation on certification. But it will point out the areas that are in compliance with organic standards, the areas that are not in compliance, and immediate changes that are required to bring the operation into compliance. An exception to this applies when the inspector sees flagrant disregard of organic rules, and takes steps to alert the certification body that certification should be stopped immediately until remedial measures have been introduced.
Confidentiality of information cannot take precedence over the inspector’s obligations to report fraud or suspected fraud to Afrisco, and to meet national obligations to report the infringement of law to the appropriate state authority.
The inspector may be required to take samples for residue testing if there are suspicions of residues or the use of genetically modified material. He will indicate the name of the laboratory to which the sample will go (marked anonymously) in case you have objections to the particular lab. Operators will be required to pay for the costs of the laboratory analysis.
The inspection will include a check on the work conditions of your employees, as set out in the Afrisco standards, Section 12 on Social Justice.
Applicants should know that Afrisco will suspend or withdraw certification from operators who are in breach of contract. The contract includes all the ground rules set out in this document.
Payment for inspection and annual assessment for certification must be paid before inspection. There is no refund if the certification is not approved. The payment is to cover the inspector’s fee and Afrisco overheads. The amount of the fee will be estimated by us after we have evaluated the initial questionnaire sent to the operator.
The inspectors you meet will have been trained by Afrisco, and will receive regular in-service training. However, if there are any problems with the inspectors, it is useful to inform the Afrisco administration of them. We have procedures to deal with complaints, and you will be informed of the outcome.
The Afrisco inspectors and all members of the Certification Committee are required to provide an annual affidavit concerning the confidentiality of information supplied by applicants and certified operators. They also provide an annual statement of interests. Any breach should be reported to the Afrisco administration, and will be severely dealt with. If any other person or organisation requests information concerning an operator’s activities, the administration will seek permission in writing from the operator to release such information.
The operator indemnifies Afrisco, its members, its staff and its inspectors against any claim whatsoever resulting from or connected with enforcement of the standards and implementation of the agreement between the parties.
In the case of disagreement between the parties, the matter will be referred to arbitration.
Afrisco will regularly publish and publicise the names of operations it has certified as meeting organic standards, or organic in conversion and the time periods of the certification. It will also publish the names of operations that have been suspended or disqualified from organic certification by Afrisco because of breach of contract.
If there is a need to make changes to the organic standards, you will be notified, and given a chance to comment on the implications for you. This will be taken into consideration when setting the exact form of the change, and the date by which you must show compliance.
Under ISO 65 Guidelines, all certified operators are also required to maintain complaint logs, related to compliance and deficiencies in their organic certification. All written complaints concerning your organic production must be maintained on file, as well as the actions and timeliness in dealing with the substance of the complaints, and the results of those actions. These will be routinely evaluated by the inspector and reported to Afrisco, and they form a part of the evaluation for organic certification in the following year.
Certification is granted for up to a year when the operation has met the organic standards for the requisite period, and commits to continue. This requires that the operator:
pays for the inspection and certification process
undergoes inspection to illustrate organic integrity of production
meets any conditions determined by Afrisco
agrees to all the clauses set out in the management programme contract.
In order for certification to be maintained, the operation commits to
maintaining organic production methods for the duration given on the certificate,
informing Afrisco if there is an envisaged change to the certified production methods, which must be approved before instituted..
Afrisco may extend the period of validity of the certificate for up to six months if acceptable reasons are provided, but will keep to the yearly inspection requirement in all circumstances.
Afrisco may extend or reduce the product scope of the certificate, after evaluating any proposed changes to:
Production or management processes
Operator ownership
Standards for the product
Organic certification will be suspended or withdrawn if there are serious infringements of organic integrity. When the infringement has been corrected then the sanction may be rescinded. If, however, the correction is not, or cannot be corrected, this information will be put the information on the website, and the operator will be required to inform all of the buyers that the organic certification is no longer valid, with a copy to Afrisco. If this is not done, Afrisco will inform the buyers, and, and make it available to any person who enquires. The operator will also be required to recall all produce that has been distributed as “organic” when it should not have been. If necessary, notification to the Advertising Standards Authority and prosecution may also have to be considered, in terms of breach of promise.
If you have any complaints with our service, or wish to appeal the certification decision, please write (or e-mail) a complete statement, and we will inform you of the procedures by which we undertake to deal with your problem to the best of our ability.
The logo may be in the mixed colours of the original, or in one plain colour that suits the client’s labels. It should be accompanied by the client’s Afrisco number. Any document bearing the logo must be approved by Afrisco prior to any distribution or disclosure. Afrisco must decide within two weeks of the receipt of the document. At the end of this delay, the lack of reply shall be interpreted as an agreement decision.
The right of use of the logo applies exclusively to its use on packaging and labels of duly certified products as well as on advertisements specifically and only related to such products.
If at any time it is found that there is some problem with organic management, AFRISCO has the right to insist on a recall of all distributed production in order to remove all indications that the product is organic, and to remove the Afrisco logo. The operator must then inform all their clients, and also any relevant authorities.
If there is found to be misuse of Afrisco’s logo, through
Using it when there is no valid certificate or the certificate has been withdrawn, or
Making claims to full organic certification when only conversion status has been granted, or
Any other incorrect references to the certification system, or
The misleading use of licenses, certificates or marks found in advertisements, catalogues, etc
we will request that you immediately take steps to stop the misuse, and sign a letter to us indicating that you have done so. If you persist in not taking corrective action, we will withdraw your organic certificate and publish our reasons for doing so. If the problem persists, we will be forced to take legal action to protect the certification mark.
There is a possibility of the logo being used on your products when sold by a company to whom you have sold the organic products, provided that the company is certified by a competent certifier whom we recognise as properly accredited. If you wish to consider this, please apply to management for the conditions under which this could be arranged.