FoodChain ID provides third-party, global certification for organic standards, including the USDA National Organic Program, EU Organic and other worldwide organic certifications through Bioagricert, a FoodChain ID company.
Different types of audit
There are several types of audit:
- Initial audit (first check)
- Annual audit (must be face-to-face)
- Supplementary audit
- Reinforced audit
- Audit by sampling
In all cases, the inspector will ask the manager or staff of the company all the relevant questions and check the answers provided. The auditor will also examine the relevant documents and records, as well as the company’s accounts.
The auditor completes the checklist in accordance with Foodchain ID Certification’s internal procedure. You are notified of any non-conformities by means of the summary of non-conformities completed in duplicate and signed by the inspector and the operator at the end of the audit.
There are 3 main aspects to the audit:
- Field visit: this part of the inspection enables the auditor to assess the compliance of the site’s infrastructure and working methods. He will carry out this visit in the company of the operator, while respecting the company’s hygiene rules.
- Administrative and documentary part: this part of the inspection enables the auditor to assess the compliance of the company’s administrative management and documentation relating to the organic production method. For example, the following documentation is required:
- All types of operator: supplier certification, complaints register, etc.
- Crop production: crop record book, stock situation, ….
- Animal production: breeding logbook, animal transaction sheet, information concerning the pilothèque system, etc.
- Preparers / distributors / …: procedures, records, …
- Sampling: samples can be taken for analysis. These analyses are used to check for the presence of residues, bovine traceability, etc.
Audits can be carried out unannounced, regardless of the type of audit. This means that an auditor can visit your company at any time.
Certification decision
The certification decision is taken by our Certification Board on the basis of an in-depth analysis of your complete audit file and the auditor’s opinion. When your certification is granted, a certificate is issued.
If you disagree with the certification decision, you can contest it by following the procedure for contestation, recourse and appeal.
Scale of penalties
Each non-conformity identified during the audits will be assessed and a penalty may be imposed.
- Simple notice: a simple notice is used in the event of a minor irregularity or an obviously unintentional failure on the part of the operator.
- Request for improvement: the request for improvement specifies the irregularity observed, the expected improvement and the deadline by which this improvement must be effective.
- Warning: the warning is accompanied by a reference to the penalty that will be applied if the operator ignores the warning. A request for improvement that is not complied with within the set deadline always results in a warning.
- Reinforced inspection: a reinforced inspection is systematically decided when a warning has had to be issued; the costs of the reinforced inspection are borne by the operator.
- Decommissioning and suspensions
- Decommissioning of a given parcel for a given period.
- Downgrading of a batch: definitive downgrading of a given part of production.
- Product suspension: prohibition on the operator marketing a given type of product bearing indications referring to the organic production method for a given period.
- Total suspension: prohibition on the marketing of all products bearing indications referring to the organic production method for a given period.
