Even simple product handling such as packing, sorting, grading, milling etc is considered "preparation" and each preparation unit must be inspected and the following rules complied with:
- Organic products may only contain certified organic agricultural ingredients and only the non agricultural ingredients and processing aids listed in Annex VIII, part A and B may be used in production process. A few ingredients are permitted to be used in non-organic quality - as listed in Annex IX), however a product must contain at least 95% organic ingredients in order to be labelled as "organic".
- The organic products must be kept strictly separate from any non-organic products at any stage of handling. This may require separate organic processing lines or very specific measures to ensure that the organic is non contaminated or commingled during reception, storage or processing. The organic products must be identifiably as organic products at any stage.
- The product flow from reception of organic raw material to final organic product which leaves the unit must be very well documented.
- Facility pest management is restricted in order to prevent contamination of the organic products.
The same basic rules of separation, prevention of contamination and documentation of product flow also apply for storage of organic products
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