Archive 2012

New UTZ CERTIFED certification protocol version 3.0 published

UTZ CERTIFIED has published its certification protocol version 3.0. The certification protocol contains all principal aspects of UTZ certification. This regulations are applicable for all crops under UTZ certification and both for UTZ Code of Conduct as well as UTZ Chain of custody. Version 3.0 of the protocol contains no revolutionary changes compared to version 2.0 however some aspects are now described more precisely. The new document can be downloaded at the UTZ CERTIFIED website.
IMO remains at your service should you have further questions on UTZ certification.
(15.11.2012/ maw, ih)

GLOBALG.A.P. - Ammonium Salts Residues

Temporarily higher (0.5 mg/kg) Residue Level in the EU for BAC and for DDAC.
Press release and further information at the GLOBALG.A.P. website.
(13.08.2012/ soh)

IMO officially recognized as control body for the purpose of equivalence by the EU Commission

We are happy to announce that through publication of Regulation (EU) 508/2012 IMO is now officially recognized as control body for the purpose of equivalence by the EU Commission. IMO has been approved in more than 60 countries as equivalent and is therefore one of the international control bodies with the largest selection of recognized countries. Customers benefit not only from the large number of eligible countries, but also from the wide range of approved product categories: with exception of processed feed IMO is recognized for all product categories like plant and animal production (including Bees), aquaculture, processing and seed production. In countries like Afghanistan, Congo, Lichtenstein, Niger, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Tajikistan, IMO is the only listed equivalent control body by the EU Commission. IMO certified customers benefit in particular from the removal of import authorizations.
Read more about this new important EU Regulation and the IMO equivalent standard that was the legal basis for this EU recognition...
(04.07.2012/ky, ih) 


New EU Regulation (EU) No 508/2012: import authorisations

On June 20th the European Commission implemented the Regulation (EU) No 508/2012 by amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 with the actualized and consolidated List of Third Countries and the List of Control Bodies and Control Authorities for the Purpose of Equivalence.

Therefore no import authorisations will be needed anymore after July 1st 2012 for imports of organic products certified by the Certification Bodies and originating form the listed countries, as mentioned in the Annex III and IV of the Regulation (EU) No 508/2012. The products categories, which are recognized as equivalent, are specified accordingly for each country.
The Institute for Marketecology (IMO), Switzerland; IMO Institut für Marktökologie GmbH, Germany; as well as IMO Control Latinoamérica Ltda. and its Countries offices are recognized as equivalent Certification Bodies. Thus no import authorisation is needed for imported products certified by them.

For product categories / countries, which are not mentioned on this list, you still need to apply for an import authorization. This also applies for products still certified as “in Conversion” as well as Shrimps and Wine.

>> Link to the corresponding EU-Regulation

If you have further questions please do not hesitate to contact us: import@imo.ch.
(26.06.2012/ lit, ky, ih)


 



 






IMO supports again Sustainable Foods Summit

The Sustainable Foods Summit is a series of summits that focuses on the leading issues the food industry faces concerning sustainability and eco-labels such as Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, etc.
For the fourth consecutive year, the European edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit will take place in Amsterdam on 7-8th June 2012. Central themes of this sixth edition are sustainable commodities and food authentication. With growing incidents of food fraud, the summit discusses emerging technologies and modern tools to authenticate sustainable foods. Methods of decommoditising ingredients / foods by sustainable development are also explored. Other topics cover supply chain efficiency, novel distribution models, mobile technology, social impacts and marketing best-practices.
There will also be a pre-conference workshop that highlights the business openings in the global market for organic products, especially since the new organic equivalency agreement has opened up trade between EU and the US.
For further information: www.sustainablefoodssummit.com
(22.03.2012/loh)
 

 

New EU rules for ‘Organic Wine’ agreed

New EU rules for “organic wine” have been published in the Official Journal on 8 of march 2012. With the new regulation (EC) N° 203/2012, which will apply from the 2012 harvest, organic wine growers will be allowed to use the term “organic wine” on their labels. The labels must also show the EU-organic-logo and the code number of their certifier, and must respect other wine labelling rules. Although there are already rules for “wine made from organic grapes”, these do not cover wine-making practices, i.e. the whole process from grape to wine. Wine is the one remaining sector not fully covered by the EU rules on organic farming standards under Regulation (EC) N° 834/2007. The new rules have the advantage of improved transparency and better consumer recognition. They will not only help to facilitate the internal market, but also to strengthen the position of EU organic wines at international level, since many other wine producing countries (USA, Chile, Australia, South Africa) have already established standards for organic wines. With this piece of legislation, the EU organic farming is now complete and covers all agricultural products.
(21.03.2012/ ky, ih)
 

IMO: First in line with ASC

IMO is proud to announce that we are the first certification body worldwide to have been granted accreditation to audit operations in the ASC supply chain and issue ASC COC certificates.
IMO is now able to offer ASC COC audits and certification services worldwide for all steps in the supply chain of ASC certified products. We can also combine the ASC COC audit with all other major aquaculture and fisheries standards.
ASC is the acronym for Aquaculture Stewardship Council and was founded in 2009 by WWF and IDH (Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative) to manage the global standards for responsible aquaculture. The ASC will be the world's leading certification and labelling programme for responsibly farmed seafood.
For more information or to request an ASC COC application form, please contact us at aqua@imo.ch.
(24.02.2012/ kib,ih)
 

Breaking News: NOP - EU Equivalency

On February 15, 2012, an equivalency agreement between Europe and the US (NOP) was signed: From June 1, 2012 onwards, organic products certified in Europe or in the United States may be sold as organic in either region – with few small limitations.
The agreement is supposed to promote organic agriculture and facilitate trade of organic products enormously. This historic moment took place at BioFach in Nuremberg.
(20.02.2012/jp, loh)
 

 

E-train, the new IMO Online training platform

E-train, the new IMO Online training platform celebrates its 2nd anniversary this month. In the past two years IMO has started to train organic inspectors in more than 15 countries worldwide using the new web based tcourse curriculum in organic inspection, combined with hands-on practical auditing training. By now a complete training curriculum in organic inspection of farms, processors and smallholder groups as well as NOP inspections is available. Due to the great success of the programme, IMO is now offering these comprehensive training courses also to other control bodies, individual auditors and consultants. Online training for organic operators in selected topics will be introduced later this year.
(05.02.2012/fm, loh)
 

 

Certification of Natural Leather - avoiding chromium tanning

IMO offers since this year the certification of natural leather according to the IVN natural leather standard. Traceability is achieved by the implication of all production stages from raw hides to consumer goods.
We invite you to inform you about the environmental impact of leather tanning, the IVN Natural Leather Standard and the certification by IMO. More information…
(23.01.2012/am,loh)
 

 

E-Book by Rainer Bächi published

The Bio-Foundation Switzerland published end of this year a picture book titled Organic Agriculture - Basic Principles of Organic Agriculture. This little book written by Dr. Rainer Bächi aims to make farmers, students and consumers think about the basic principles of organic “agri-culture”.
You are cordially invited to discover the book and its background online on the website of the Bio-Foundation.
(22.12.2011/loh)
 

 


   

 
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