Urgent Notice on Further Standardizing Certification Activities for Organic Products and Other Food and Agricultural Products 文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11342/
In recent times, all sectors of society have voiced strong concerns over issues such as the forgery, fraudulent use, expired use, and use beyond the permitted scope of organic product certification certificates and certification marks, as well as irregular certification, consulting, and unverifiable data. These issues have caused a severe negative impact in society and attracted great attention from multiple leaders of the State Council.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11342/
Quality inspection departments at all levels and relevant certification bodies, based on the situations reported from various parties and in conjunction with the work requirements of the “Double Crackdown” and “Quality Month” campaigns, have promptly launched rectification and self-inspection work, effectively curbing a number of illegal and non-compliant acts. In order to further standardize certification activities for organic certification and other food and agricultural products, the relevant matters are hereby urgently notified as follows:文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11342/
I. All certification bodies are requested to immediately, in accordance with the requirements of the Notice on Launching the Food and Agricultural Products Certification Information System (Version 2.0) (Ren Ban Fa Han [2011] No. 212), complete the updating and improvement of all of their institution's food and agricultural product certification information in the “Food and Agricultural Products Certification Information System (food.cnca.cn)” before October 31, and effectively ensure the completeness, authenticity, and accuracy of data items.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11342/
II. The Information Center of the Certification and Accreditation Administration is requested to complete the data analysis of the “Food and Agricultural Products Certification Information System (food.cnca.cn)” before November 4 and submit to our Administration a data quality analysis report on certification bodies, clearly identifying the problems existing in the data submitted by each certification body. For those with problems, our Administration will, in accordance with the provisions of the Measures for the Administration of Certification Bodies, issue an administrative warning to the relevant certification body and order correction within a prescribed time limit; for serious problems, while issuing an administrative warning to the relevant certification body, the authority of that body to assign numbers in the “Food and Agricultural Products Certification Information System (food.cnca.cn)” shall be temporarily suspended until the certification body updates and improves all certification issuance information.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11342/
III. The Information Center of the Certification and Accreditation Administration is requested to establish a monthly report system for data analysis of the “Food and Agricultural Products Certification Information System (food.cnca.cn)” and, based on the data analysis results and the provisions of Article II of this Notice, regularly submit analysis reports and handling suggestions to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11342/
IV. All certification bodies are requested to immediately organize and carry out surprise inspections of all enterprises certified for organic product certification, focusing on whether the certified enterprises' environment, production process, inputs and sales volume, and mark control comply with the requirements of the national standard GB/T 19630-2005 Organic Products. Even greater attention should be paid to high-risk or sensitive products such as honey products, dairy products, goji berries, and vegetables. For those not meeting the requirements, their certification certificates shall be immediately suspended or revoked, and the relevant surprise inspection work report shall be submitted to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China before November 30, with copies simultaneously sent to the provincial quality and technical supervision bureau and the inspection and quarantine bureau in the locality.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11342/
V. The China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment is requested to immediately organize and carry out surprise accreditation inspections of all organic product certification bodies, focusing on whether activities such as the composition of certification body inspection teams, mark issuance, and certification inspections comply with the Measures for the Administration of Organic Products, the Implementation Rules for Organic Product Certification, and the national standard GB/T 19630 Organic Products. For those not meeting the requirements, the accreditation qualification of the certification body shall be immediately suspended or revoked; where circumstances are serious, a recommendation for corresponding qualification penalties shall be submitted to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China. The China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment is requested to submit the relevant surprise inspection report to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China before December 31.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11342/
VI. The China Certification and Accreditation Association is requested to immediately conduct a risk assessment of the registration system for food and agricultural product certification personnel, further tighten the skill and professional ethics requirements for personnel registration, raise the entry threshold, and, at an appropriate time, uniformly organize continuing education for relevant food and agricultural product certification personnel, thoroughly rectify the certification personnel team, and report the relevant situation to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China before December 31.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11342/
VII. All bureaus are requested, according to their respective divisions of work and in coordination with relevant departments, to immediately deploy and arrange “dragnet-style” supervision and inspection work for certified enterprises and sales venues of organic products and other food and agricultural products. First, focus on investigating and handling the forgery, fraudulent use, expired use, and use beyond the permitted scope of certification certificates and certification marks for organic products and other food and agricultural products. Where laws and regulations are violated, strict handling shall be carried out in accordance with relevant laws and regulations; second, focus on inspecting whether all certified enterprises within the jurisdiction, including those with organic certification, continue to meet certification requirements. Where problems are found, investigate and handle them strictly in accordance with Article 60 of the Regulations on Certification and Accreditation; third, focus on inspecting whether the certification information issued by certification bodies is consistent with the “Food and Agricultural Products Certification Information System (food.cnca.cn).” Where a certification body provides false information, it shall be investigated and handled in accordance with Article 53 of the Measures for the Administration of Certification Bodies; where a certification body fails to report certification information as required, compiles certification certificate numbers on its own to issue certification certificates, and the certification certificates held by relevant organizations do not exist in the “Food and Agricultural Products Certification Information System (food.cnca.cn),” it shall be investigated and handled in accordance with Article 71 of the Regulations on Certification and Accreditation. All bureaus are requested to report the supervision and inspection situation to the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China before December 31, 2011.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11342/
VIII. Based on the current seasonal consumption situation, all quality and technical supervision bureaus are requested to adopt methods such as posting announcements at sales venues to clearly indicate information on crab production enterprises currently holding organic certification, as well as reporting channels and methods, guide the general public in informed consumption, and effectively protect consumer interests.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11342/