Urgent Notice Regarding the Further Standardization of Certification Activities for Organic Products and Other Food and Agricultural Products! Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11342/
Recently, all sectors of society have voiced strong concerns over issues such as the forgery, fraudulent use, expired use, and use beyond the authorized scope of organic product certification certificates, certification marks, as well as irregular certification, consulting, and unverifiable data. These issues have caused a negative impact in society and drawn great attention from several leaders of the State Council.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11342/
Quality inspection departments at all levels and relevant certification bodies, based on the situations reported from various parties and in conjunction with the requirements of the “Double Crackdown” and “Quality Month” initiatives, promptly launched rectification and self-inspection work, effectively curbing a number of illegal and irregular acts. In order to further regulate organic certification and other food and agricultural product certification activities, the relevant matters are hereby urgently notified as follows:Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11342/
I. All certification bodies are requested to immediately, in accordance with the requirements of the Notice on Launching the Food and Agricultural Product Certification Information System (Version 2.0) (Ren Ban Fa Han [2011] No. 212), complete the updating and improvement of all food and agricultural product certification information of their own institution in the “Food and Agricultural Product Certification Information System (food.cnca.cn)” before October 31, and effectively ensure the completeness, authenticity, and accuracy of data items.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11342/
II. The Information Center of the Certification and Accreditation Administration is requested to complete the data analysis of the “Food and Agricultural Product 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 Product Certification Information System (food.cnca.cn)” shall be temporarily suspended until the certification body updates and improves all certification issuance information.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/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 Product 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.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11342/
IV. All certification bodies are requested to immediately organize surprise inspections of all certified enterprises holding organic product certification, focusing on whether the environment, production process, inputs and sales volume, and mark control of certified enterprises comply with the requirements of the national standard GB/T 19630-2005 Organic Products. 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 sent to the provincial quality and technical supervision bureau and inspection and quarantine bureau in the locality.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11342/
V. The China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment is requested to immediately organize 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 suggestion 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.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/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, organize unified continuing education for relevant food and agricultural product certification personnel in due course, 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.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11342/
VII. All bureaus are requested, according to their respective divisions of duties and in coordination with relevant departments, to immediately deploy and arrange “dragnet-style” supervision and inspection work on certified enterprises and sales venues for organic products and other food and agricultural products. First, focus on investigating and handling the forgery, fraudulent use, expired use, and use beyond the authorized 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 for organic certification and other certifications within the jurisdiction 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 issuance information of certification bodies is consistent with the “Food and Agricultural Product Certification Information System (food.cnca.cn)”. Where a certification body provides false information, investigate and handle it 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 and issues certification certificates, and the certification certificates held by the relevant organizations do not exist in the “Food and Agricultural Product Certification Information System (food.cnca.cn)”, investigate and handle it 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.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11342/
VIII. In light of 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.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11342/