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Requirement for certification bodies to publish information of organic operators under the Canada Organic Regime

To: Certification bodies accredited by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

Date: July 29, 2019

Purpose

This policy will require the CFIA accredited certification bodies (CBs) to make certain information on organic operators under the Canada Organic Regime publicly available.

Regulatory background

CFIA is the scheme owner of the Canada Organic Regime (COR) which operates within the legal authority of Part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR). The International Organization for Standardization standard ISO/IEC 17065, entitled Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services (ISO 17065) is incorporated by reference in Part 13 of the SFCR and CBs must comply with it.

As per clause 7.8 of ISO 17065, CBs are required to:

Implementing the policy

The CFIA requires the CBs to make the following information publicly available:

The CBs are required to publish the above information using an online directory such as a searchable database or Excel document. The CBs will be responsible for keeping this information up to date.

Medium of publication will be decided in consultation with the CBs, national organic associations and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

The timeline for implementing this policy is fall 2020.

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