Scope
The IFS Food Standard is used to audit food manufacturers regarding food safety and quality of processes and products.
The list of requirements is organized in the following topics:
Benefits of IFS for your Company
IFS Food certification can offer a number of key benefits to companies determining excellence in quality, food safety and customer satisfaction, and seeking a competitive advantage in their marketplace.
Production department benefits:
Marketing department benefits:
Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 8
The BRC standards incorporate
The starting point for an effective food safety plan is the commitment of senior management to the implementation of the BRC Global Standard and continual development including a commitment to a food safety culture.
The BRC Global Standard requires the development of an effective hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) program based on the requirements of the internationally recognized Codex Alimentarius system
Ensure your company’s processes and procedures meet the requirements in a consistent application, with the inclusion of product specifications, supplier approval, traceability, and the management of incidents, food fraud, food defense and product recalls.
The expectations for the production environment consisting of the layout and maintenance of the buildings and equipment, cleaning, pest control, waste management and foreign body controls.
Product design and development stage containing allergen management, product and ingredient provenance, product packaging and product inspection and testing.
The establishment and maintenance of safe process controls, weight/volume control and equipment calibration, and ensures the documented HACCP plan is put into practice.
Organizations are required to ensure that all personnel performing work that affects product safety, legality and quality are demonstrably competent to carry out their activity, through training, personal hygiene standards and suitable site issued protective clothing.
Benefits of BRC Standard for your Company
Benefits of FSSC 22000 Standard for your Company
Building an FSSC System will provide your company with effective management of food safety hazards by creating an environment capable of producing safe product and a management system to continually manage, monitor, validate and improve the system
Certified companies are asking their suppliers to achieve certification. Chances are that if you have not been asked yet, you will be asked in the near future. Starting on your certification can help you stay competitive and qualified to work with your current customers.
Large retailers and multinational manufacturers or processors are also demanding certification of their suppliers. Having FSSC Certification means you are qualified to supply these organizations or their suppliers, opening up a large market for your products
Countries across the globe are making changes to food safety regulations, its Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). FSSC prepares your organization to meet many or most of the FSMA requirements.
FSSC can improve your internal processes to ensure safe product
It maps out what an organization needs to do to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe
Benefits of ISO 22000 Standard for your Company
Prerequisite Programs (PRPs)
Basic conditions and activities that are necessary to maintain a hygienic environment through the food chain suitable for the production, handling, and provision of safe end products and safe food for human consumption
HACCP is based on seven principles
1.Conduct a Hazard Analysis
2.Identify the Critical Control Points (CCPs)
3.Establish a maximum or minimum limit for temperature, time, moisture level, pH, salt level, chlorine level or other processing characteristic that will control the hazard. This is the critical limit for the CCPs
4.Establish Monitoring Procedures
5.Establish Corrective Actions
6.Establish Verification Procedures
7.Establish Record Keeping Procedures
Benefits of HACCP Standard for your Company
GMP guidelines provide guidance for manufacturing, testing, and quality assurance in order to ensure that a manufactured product is safe for human consumption or use
Many countries have legislated that manufacturers follow GMP procedures and create their own GMP guidelines that correspond with their legislation
In Sri Lanka SLS 143:1999 (The Code of Practice for General Principles of Food Hygiene)
The guideline follows a few basic principles
Iran GMP
Benefits of GMP (Food) Standard for your Company
ISO 22716 is an international standard of good manufacturing practices (GMP) for the cosmetics manufacturing industry and describes the basic principles of applying GMP in a facility that produces finished cosmetic products. This guideline offers organized and practical advice on the management of human, technical and administrative factors affecting product quality.
The Sri Lankan market for personal care products has undergone several changes as demand increases. Now, consumers of cosmetics products are not limited to only women but men as well. Thus, this trend allows the cosmetics industry to grow and develop rapidly.
It covers manufacturing, storing, packaging, testing and transportation processes, distribution of finished cosmetic products. Even though the standard focuses on product quality. The guideline has been approved and accepted by many global regulatory bodies, such as the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the International Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation (ICCR) and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
Good manufacturing practices (GMP) are essential to any organization looking to reduce the risk and liability of their cosmetic product that can result from poor handling within their operation.
The standard’s guidelines will provide your organization with practical methods for managing the many factors that can affect product quality.
Benefits of ISO 22716 (Good Manufacturing Practice for Cosmetics)
The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) based in New York City and Amsterdam, with offices throughout the world and operations in more than 60 countries. Its main work is the provision of an environmental certification on sustainable forestry and agriculture and tourism. In June 2017, the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ announced the intention to merge and in January 2018 the merger was legally closed and completed. The organizations merged in recognition of their similar work to address deforestation, climate change, systemic poverty, and social inequity. The merged organization, going by the name the Rainforest Alliance, points to the increased size and strength of their combined expertise to achieve a scale of impact necessary to meet these challenges effectively.
To allow a smoother transition to our new certification program, from July 1, 2019, companies can source Rainforest Alliance or UTZ Certified ingredients (or a mixture of both) and then use either the Rainforest Alliance Seal or UTZ label on their packaging. All the same labeling rules still apply. Companies can find more information about what they need to do here.
Two existing certification schemes are similar in terms of objectives and impact, so you can still be that companies using the UTZ logo or the Rainforest Alliance seal have sourced ingredients from farms audited to meet social, environmental and economic standards.
Frogs are indicator species, meaning that they are a symbol of environmental health, and they are found on every continent except Antarctica. RA green frog certification seal indicates that a farm, forest, or tourism enterprise has been audited to meet standards that require environmental, social, and economic sustainability.
Agriculture
In order to become certified, farms (Tea Estate & Factory, Banana Plantation, and Cinnamon Plantation) must meet the criteria of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard. The Standard encompasses all three pillars of sustainability—social, economic, and environmental. Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms are audited regularly to verify that farmers are complying with the Standard’s comprehensive requirements, which require continual improvement on the journey to sustainable agriculture. The Standard is built on these important principles of sustainable farming:
Tourism
Proprietors of tourism businesses, including lodging services and inbound tour operators, who demonstrate they are minimizing their environmental footprint and supporting workers, local cultures, and surrounding communities may also be eligible for using the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal. Third-party audits and certification by NEPCon confirm these businesses meet tourism criteria, which are recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. The criteria require:
Fair Trade is a designation developed to help consumers support products that come from farms that have been certified to provide fair wages and safe working conditions (forced child labor is prohibited). Fairtrade changes the way trade works through better prices, decent working conditions and a fairer deal for farmers and workers in developing countries.
Fairtrade’s approach enables farmers and workers to have more control over their lives and decide how to invest in their future.
As a leader in the global movement to make trade fair, Fairtrade supports and challenges businesses and governments and connects farmers and workers with the people who buy their products.
By choosing Fairtrade, people can create change through their everyday actions. A product with the FAIRTRADE Mark means producers and businesses have met internationally agreed standards which have been independently certified.
Farmers and workers have a strong voice at every level of Fairtrade, from how they invest in and run their local organizations to having an equal say in Fairtrade’s global decision-making
Benefit of Fair Trade for your Company
1) Benefit is that it increases the income of the producers of the farmers. This is achieved through two steps
The price of the goods are paid at an agreed and guaranteed fair price for the producer and manufacturer.
The distribution channels involved in marketing the goods is also reduced thus the producers get a larger share from the price of the goods rather than the distribution company
2) Benefit is that because they now have a larger share of the pie, both farmers and workers have extra income with which to improve their lives. The price of a specific good is typically computed to cover the cost of both sustainable production and livelihood. A premium is also added to the price to be used as investment for development projects. These projects include building schools, funding scholarships and even used to fund low-interest loans for farmers and workers.
3) Benefit is that is involves greater environmental protection. The Fair Trade Certification being used to market the products does not only show where the good comes from and who benefits from it. It also tells consumer how the good was made and manufactured. For agricultural goods for example, the use of some pesticides is not allowed and hence giving consumer greater satisfaction in knowing that the goods are safe.
4) Benefit is the advantage that farmers are able to obtain a better and stronger foothold in the world market. Because buyers deal directly with the farmers, the farmers are able to get good prices for their products in the market.
5) Benefit is that it provides a closer link to the producers and consumers. Most consumers nowadays are environmentally conscious and thus want to know more about their products. In addition, consumers also want to know just how much the ones who originally make the products are getting. Thus in the end consumers become satisfied with the quality of their products and the farmers get satisfaction from knowing that they got paid accordingly for the goods they produced.
ISO 9001 sets out the criteria for a quality management system and is the only standard in the family that can be certified to (although this is not a requirement). It can be used by any organization, large or small, regardless of its field of activity.
This standard is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement. These principles are explained in more detail in ISO’s quality management principles. Using ISO 9001 helps ensure that customers get consistent, good-quality products and services, which in turn brings many business benefits.
The ISO 9000 family of quality management systems is a set of standards that helps organizations ensure they meet or exceed customers and other stakeholder needs/expectation within statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service.
What topics does ISO 9001:2015 cover?
ISO 9001 is based on the plan-do-check-act methodology and provides a process-oriented approach to documenting and reviewing the structure, responsibilities, and procedures required to achieve effective quality management in an organization. Specific sections of the standard contain information on many topics, such as:
Changes introduced in the 2015 ISO 9001 revision are intended to ensure that ISO 9001 continues to adapt to the changing environments in which organizations operate. Some of the key updates in ISO 9001:2015 include:
Benefits of ISO 9001:2015 Standards for your company
An effective Quality Management System (QMS) can provide benefits to your customers and give you a competitive advantage by:
ISO 14001 is the international standard that specifies requirements for an effective environmental management system (EMS). It provides a framework that an organization can follow, rather than establishing environmental performance requirements. ISO 14001:2015 can be used in whole or in part to systematically improve environmental management.
What topics does ISO 14001:2015 cover?
At the highest level, ISO 14001:2015 covers the following topics with regard to environmental management systems:
10 major areas of impact of the 2015 revision:
Benefits of ISO 14001:2015 Standards for your company
Using ISO 14001:2015 has many benefits for organizations with environmental management systems. Organizations and companies find that using the standard helps them:
ISO 45001 is an International Standard that specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system, with guidance for its use, to enable an organization to proactively improve its OH&S performance in preventing injury and ill-health. ISO 45001 is intended to be applicable to any organization regardless of its size, type and nature. ISO 45001 enables an organization, through its OH&S management system, to integrate other aspects of health and safety, such as worker wellness/wellbeing; however, it should be noted that an organization can be required by applicable legal requirements to also address such issues.
As an international standard, ISO 45001 crosses geographic, political, economic, commercial and social boundaries. This sets a single benchmark for the management of occupational health and safety. So if your organization operates or trades internationally, you can work to a single standard which can simplify your business.
Key Features of ISO 45001 Standards
Although ISO 45001 constitutes a fully new standard, its foundations already exist and are formulated in OHSAS 18001. Companies that have already implemented an occupational health and safety management system in accordance with OHSAS 18001, and actively apply it in everyday company practice, can expect a smooth transition to ISO 45001.
Key improvements:
Benefits of ISO 45001:2018 Standards for your company
Certification against ISO 45001 will give your company many valuable competitive advantages, including:
SA 8000 is an international certification standard that encourages organizations to develop, maintain and apply socially acceptable practices in the workplace. The SA 8000 standard can be applied to any company, of any size.
It was established by Social Accountability International in 1997 as a multi-stakeholder initiative. Over the years, the Standard has evolved into an overall framework that helps certified organizations demonstrate their dedication to the fair treatment of workers across industries and in any country.
SA8000 is based on conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Social Responsibility can strengthen your company’s reputation, in the current global business environment is motivating organizations to consider the full social and ethical impacts of their activities.
Companies that prove a responsible approach to social and ethical issues will gain a vital competitive edge and build confidence in its clients, investors, local communities and consumers.
Why does social accountability matter?
It is estimated that upwards of 100 million children worldwide are in full-time employment. Under the requirements of social compliance, companies must not allow child labor.
They must also provide a safe and healthy work place for all and respect the right of all employees to join a trade union. Discrimination, in any form, is not allowed and neither is corporal punishment or verbal abuse.
What kind of standards does social accountability ensure?
Those organizations who gain social compliance certification will ensure that their employees and those employees of their suppliers do not work for more than 48 hours per week or more than six days per week. Wages throughout the supply chain must be at worse equal to legal or industry minimum levels and must leave the employee with some discretionary income. The final requirement governing management systems sets out the procedures and structures that companies must adopt to ensure compliance with the standard is continuously reviewed.
What are SA8000 main requirements?
There are nine key areas to Social Compliance and SA8000, which are:
Within the key areas there is specific focus on
Benefits of SA 8000 Standards for your company
Having a robust and effectively implemented social accountability management will benefit your business by:
Used by large and small organizations across the world to manage and reduce energy use and costs, ISO 50001:2018 is an excellent framework to help implement an energy management system (EnMS).
From large retailers to smaller manufacturers and small businesses, the standard offers organizations the opportunity to become more resilient against energy costs and availability.
Whether you’re interested in certifying to ISO 50001 to reduce costs, comply with legislation or increase your sustainability, implementing the standard provides a systematic approach to achieving all three.
Energy management is now in the global spotlight, due to the pressing need to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Energy-saving technologies and facilities are only part of the methodologies for improving energy efficiency
A more sensible and systematic approach to improve an enterprise’s energy performance sustainably is to establish and implement a standardised, process-based energy management structure. Published on 15 June 2011, the ISO 50001 Energy Management System (EnMS) standard is a globally accepted framework for managing energy, providing technical and management strategies for enterprises to increase energy efficiency, reduce costs, and improve environmental performance.
Whilst relevant to any organisation, ISO 50001 certification is particularly relevant to organizations needing to demonstrate compliance with the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS).
EnMS is proving to be an effective strategy for governments and industries to cost-effectively reduce energy use. ISO 50001 is not only a global best practice model for comprehensive and strategic energy management, but also serves as a global benchmark for climate and clean energy action. Energy management systems based on ISO 50001 best practices, or ISO 50001 certification are often key elements of energy efficiency policies around the world for large energy users, as well as small to medium enterprises.
Benefits of ISO 50001 Standards for your company
ISO/IEC 27001 (also known as ISO 27001) is the international standard that sets out the specification for an ISMS (information security management system). Its best-practice approach helps organizations manage their information security by addressing people and processes as well as technology.
An ISMS is a holistic approach to securing the confidentiality, integrity and availability of corporate information assets. It consists of policies, procedures and other controls involving people, processes and technology.
Informed by regular information security risk assessments, an ISMS is an efficient, cost-effective approach to keeping your information assets secure.
ISO 27001 certification will also demonstrate to your influential external stakeholders that you take information security seriously and can be trusted with their valuable information assets as well as your own. ISO 27001 standard is the internationally recognized best practice framework for an Information Security Management System (ISMS).
ISO 27001 certification is not only about what technical measures you put in place. ISO 27001 is about ensuring the business controls and the management process you have in place are adequate and proportionate for the information security threats and opportunities you have identified and evaluated in your risk assessment. And that should all be done with a business-led approach to the information security management process.
The ISO 27001 standard requires that your data management staff are capable of systematically examining the organization’s information security risks. This means taking into consideration all vulnerable points in your system, the threats that could be posed to these weaknesses and also the impact it could have on your overall data management solution. It also requires that you design and implement a comprehensive suite of information security controls that can address risks that would be deemed as dangerous or risky. Lastly, it also requires that your management staff adopt a management process that ensures that all of your information security controls meet the information security needs of the organization.
Benefits of ISO/IEC 27000 Standards for your company
Doing nothing is probably not an option if you are accessing and managing valuable information assets owned by others. For some organizations, their whole business is built on developing or managing information assets. So in that case, losing some or all of that business, or not winning more in future probably means it’s worth investing in becoming certified to ISO 27001, especially if customers or other stakeholders like investors perceive a risk.
Achieving ISO 27001 certification is not as hard or as expensive as it used to be because of innovative solutions like ISMS.online. And, despite many of the strategic and financial benefits, some leaders still consider it a ‘grudge’ purchase and another bureaucratic tick box exercise. To achieve certification typically means a time and cost investment, like most strategic investments it is worth considering the return and broader benefits.
Benefits to your customers
Benefits to you
Benefits to your Satff
Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, USA, with regional offices in Hong Kong, SAR, and Dhaka, Bangladesh, full-time staff in Europe, India and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia), and for Latin America, WRAP is an independent, objective, non-profit team of global social compliance experts dedicated to promoting safe, lawful, humane, and ethical manufacturing around the world through certification and education.
Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) is the world’s largest factory-based certification programme for manufacturers of clothing, footwear and other sewn products. The WRAP programme certifies facilities for compliance with the 12 WRAP Principles which assure safe, legal and ethical manufacturing processes. A WRAP certification audit will inspect your entire production process to ensure you are compliant with the WRAP Principles and provides your customers assurance that your goods are ethically produced.
The 12 WRAP Principles consist of:
The WRAP Principles are based on generally accepted international workplace standards, local laws and workplace regulations, and include the spirit or language of relevant conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO). The Principles encompass human resources management, health and safety, environmental practices, and legal compliance including import/export and customs compliance and security standards.
The WRAP Certification Program’s objective is to independently monitor and certify compliance with these standards, to ensure that sewn products are being produced under lawful, humane and ethical conditions. Participating facilities voluntarily commit to ensuring that their manufacturing practices will meet these standards, and further commit to passing along, on their part, the expectation that their contractors and suppliers likewise comply with these standards
Benefits of WRAP Certification for your company
An independent, third-party WRAP certification audit offers multiple benefits to your brand:
Sedex meaning is Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, is a not-for-profit organization based in London, UK, open for membership to any company anywhere in the world.
Sedex is one of the world’s leading ethical trade service providers, working to improve working conditions in global supply chains. Sedex provide practical tools, services and a community network to help companies improve their responsible and sustainable business practices, and source responsibly.
Using Sedex enables companies to work together to better manage their social and environmental performance, and protect people working in the supply chain. Sedex has over 60,000 members in 180 countries, across 35 industry sectors, including food, agriculture, financial services, clothing and apparel, packaging and chemicals.
Sedex is a membership organization for businesses committed to continuous improvement of the ethical performance of their supply chains. Companies join Sedex in order to use the Sedex web-based system, participate in Sedex governance , participate in working groups , network and engage with other Sedex members , utilise Sedex value-added services.
Sedex enables member companies to efficiently manage the ethical and responsible practices of their global supply chains, generating transparency through the provision of a data exchange.
Sedex focuses on four pillars. Members commit to improving their supply chain performance accordingly.
SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit)
The tool used by Sedex is named SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit). It incorporates 3 elements:
SMETA, Sedex’s proprietary audit methodology, is one of the most widely used social audit procedures in the world. It provides a globally-recognized way to assess responsible supply chain activities, including labour rights, health & safety, the environment and business ethics.
Benefits of SEDEX Certification for your company
SMETA is designed to benefit retailers and consumer brands and their suppliers, reducing duplication of effort in ethical trade auditing. Companies who are not members of Sedex are able and encouraged to use SMETA as well.
Sedex is a comprehensive platform that enables the effective management of complex global supply chains, leading to real business benefits for your organisation.
Demonstrate to stakeholders and customers that you are committed to driving improvements in your supply chain.
Many customers see Sedex as an important part of their responsible sourcing practices and companies increasingly view Sedex membership as a condition of supply.
The reports available on Sedex, and specifically the Sedex Risk Assessment tool, can help assess the likelihood of issues occurring in your supply chain. Improve supplier relationships
The Sedex model encourages increased supplier engagement, helping you to drive ethical and responsible improvements within your supply chain.
Sedex allows more time and resources to be spent on making improvements rather than on completing multiple audits and unnecessary paperwork.
Six Sigma is a disciplined, statistical-based, data-driven approach and continuous improvement methodology for eliminating defects in a product, process or service. It was developed by Motorola and Bill Smith in the early 1980’s based on quality management fundamentals.
Six Sigma focuses on reducing process variation and enhancing process control, whereas lean drives out waste (non-value added processes and procedures) and promotes work standardization and flow. The distinction between Six Sigma and lean has blurred, with the term “lean Six Sigma” being used more and more often because process improvement requires aspects of both approaches to attain positive results.
Lean Six Sigma is a fact-based, data-driven philosophy of improvement that values defect prevention over defect detection. It drives customer satisfaction and bottom-line results by reducing variation, waste, and cycle time, while promoting the use of work standardization and flow, thereby creating a competitive advantage. It applies anywhere variation and waste exist, and every employee should be involved.
Interacting Lean and Six Sigma
Lean and Six Sigma both provide customers with the best possible quality, cost, delivery, and a newer attribute, nimbleness. There is a great deal of overlap between the two disciplines; however, they both approach their common purpose from slightly different angles:
Often successful implementations begin with the lean approach, making the workplace as efficient and effective as possible, reducing waste, and using value stream maps to improve understanding and throughput. If process problems remain, more technical Six Sigma statistical tools may then be applied
Implementing Six Sigma
Six Sigma implementation strategies can vary significantly between organizations, depending on their distinct culture and strategic business goals. After deciding to implement Six Sigma, an organization has two basic options:
The Six Sigma Process of the DMAIC method has five phases
The martial arts belt structure is used to recognize proficiency in training and application in Six Sigma, using the following colors:
Formal certification is recognized at the Green Belt, Black Belt and Master Black Belt level based on one or more of the following criteria:
Benefits of Six Sigma Certification for your company
(Inspection Costs, Rework Costs, Customer Complaints)
5S represents Japanese words that describe the steps of a workplace organization process. English equivalent words are shown in parenthesis
It is also referred to as 6S or 5S+S (adding Safety or Security) or even 7s (adding Spirit and Safety). Not to be confused with Six Sigma (often written as 6s).
1. Sort (Seiri)
Distinguishing between necessary and unnecessary things, and getting rid of what you do not need
2.Straighten (Seiton)
The practice of orderly storage so the right item can be picked efficiently (without waste) at the right time, easy to access for everyone. A place for everything and everything in its place.
3.Shine (Seiso)
Create a clean worksite without garbage, dirt and dust, so problems can be more easily identified (leaks, spills, excess, damage, etc)
4. Standardize (Seiketsu)
Setting up standards for a neat, clean, workplace
5. Sustain (Shitsuke)
Implementing behaviors and habits to maintain the established standards over the long term, and making the workplace organization the key to managing the process for success
The other options to include with 5S are Safety, Security and Spirit.
Safety: Safety is often said that it is implied within 5S that everything should be done with safety as the number one priority, but to ensure that is the case, Safety is added as an additional S. It is particularly prominent in manufacturing, warehouses, heavy equipment, construction, healthcare and laboratory settings, and in other contexts where potentially dangerous equipment or substances may be involved, and less prominent in office settings.
Spirit: To ensure that the focus of 5S is to make it easier for the workers, Spirit is added to remind people that it should be fun, and that creativity is key to coming up with new ideas and better ways to implement 5S. Without engaged workers, the 5S approach will not last or be successful.
Benefits of 5S system for your company
Benefits to be derived from implementing a lean 5S program include:
Product certification Scheme which is popularly known as the “SLS Marks Scheme”, is a scheme that gives a third party guarantee on quality of a product. This scheme enables the SLSI to grant permits to local as well as overseas manufacturers producing goods conforming to Sri Lanka Standards to mark the “SLS” mark on their products. Sri Lanka Standards Institution Act No.6 of 1984, and the regulations made there under empower the Sri Lanka Standards Institution to issue such permits to manufacturers.
The Product Certification Scheme is essentially voluntary in nature. However, SLS Mark has been made through the Directions issued under the Consumer Protection Act No. 1 of 1979 and Consumer Affairs Authority Act No. 9 of 2003. However this regulation remains unchanged.
The Certification Mark on a commodity or product signifies that the commodity or product is consistently manufactured in accordance with the relevant Sri Lanka Standard Specification and could be purchased with a reasonable assurance of quality. Compliance with the requirements of the specification is assured through regular monitoring of the quality assurance system through audits carried out by qualified Auditors of the Institution and product testing.
Benefits of SLS Standards for Your Products
Organic Certification
Organic agriculture is a sustainable form of agriculture, for both ecological and economic reasons. The development trend of Organic Agriculture in world during the past decade shows a positive growth. As an example USA and Canada are having rapidly growing Organic Food market of 20% and Europe is having 7.8% per year.
Sri Lanka, after its pioneering move in introducing organically certified tea to the world market, expanded this product range to non-traditional agricultural products such as:
One of the salient features of the majority of such non-traditional organic produce is the fact that they are being produced by small scale farmers in the provinces. There is substantial potential for the growth of this sector.
An organic label indicates to the consumers that the product has been produced using certain production methods. The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) provides guidelines that have been widely adopted by countries for organic production and processing.
Organic agriculture provides a holistic approach to management systems that promotes agronomic, biological and mechanical methods as opposed to using synthetic materials for crop production and processing. Producers and manufacturers are allowed to make declarations in the market place based on standards and established procedures.
These systems facilitate market access, comparability and competition on equal terms. The use of accredited laboratories, inspection and certification bodies and mechanisms for verification of the authenticity of certifications and reports by regulatory bodies helps build trust and confidence among the trading partners.
The Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB) with internationally recognized mutual reorganization arrangements could provide the required assurance to facilitate international trade. Private inspectional certification bodies that had been accredited by international agencies preformed this function to facilitate international trade.
Benefits of Organic Certification for Your Products
Organic products and other ingredients are grown without or minimum the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones
Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products
In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food processors, retailers and restaurants
Major Organic Certifications Name
The National Organic Program (NOP) develops the rules & regulations for the production, handling, labeling, and enforcement of all USDA organic products. This process, referred to as rulemaking, involves input from the National Organic Standards Board (a Federal Advisory Committee made up of fifteen members of the public) and the public.
https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic
https://www.usda.gov/topics/organic
The National Organic Program (NOP) develops the rules & regulations for the production, handling, labeling, and enforcement of all USDA organic products. This process, referred to as rulemaking, involves input from the National Organic Standards Board (a Federal Advisory Committee made up of fifteen members of the public) and the public.
IFOAM EU is the unified voice of organic stakeholders towards the European decision makers, and the EU Institutions recognize IFOAM EU as the leading advocate for organic food and farming at EU level. Representing organic interests in connection with the European regulation for organic is one of our core activities.
Organic farming and production has been regulated at EU level since 1991. Today the European requirements for organic production are set by Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 defining the aims, objectives and principles of organic farming and production, and by two implementing regulations (No 889/2008 and No 1235/2008) detailing the organic production, labelling, control and import rules. All products labelled as organic and sold in the EU must be produced in accordance with these regulations.
The JAS Standards for organic plants and organic processed foods of plant origin were established in 2000 on the basis with the Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods which were adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standards) are the Japanese national standards in the field of agricultural, forestry, fisheries and food industry. JAS is established by the Minister of agriculture, Forestry and fisheries.
https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/standard/specific/organic_JAS.html
The competent authority is the Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), which is responsible for the implementation of organic legislation as well as for the accreditation of the private certification bodies.
Within MAFRA, the Korean National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS) is responsible for the audit of the MAFRA-accredited certification bodies. NAQS also administers the organic import control procedures.
The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) enforces regulation for general food safety, including the Korean Food Code. Amongst many other things, the Code defines the criteria for designation of products as processed (which is relevant for the question which products are allowed be imported to Korea under organic Equivalence Agreements (EAs)).
https://www.ccof.org/documents/korean-organic-logo-and-labeling-information
Other Organic Certification
Registration for Organic Product Sector
Registration of Exporters / Importers / Traders / Producers / Processors / Certification bodies / Inspection bodies and Laboratories of Organic Agricultural Products
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) has initiated actions to establish the National Organic Control Unit (NOCU) as per the regulations published under the section 29 of the Export Development Act No. 40 of 1979 in the extraordinary gazette no. 1870/71 dated July 11, 2014. As per the regulations, all Organic Exporters, Importers, Traders, Producers, Processors, Certification bodies, Inspection bodies and Laboratories are hereby requested to register with the NOCU to ensure the credibility of Organic Agricultural Products traded within Sri Lanka and exported to the international market
NOCU – Export Development of SL Organic Regulations – English
Gazette – Export Development of Organic Products Regulations – English
Gazette – Export Development of Organic Products Regulations – Sinhala
Gazette – Export Development of Organic Products Regulations – Tamil
Organic Certification Agencies
Organic regulations are formulated based on guidelines or basic standards provided by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and Codex Alimentarius. Presently, there are eight international certification agencies operating in the country as external inspectors or/and certification bodies.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board is setting up an independent body to obtain the 3rd country registration in Europe. This controlling authority will govern the Organic Sector in the country and register Sri Lanka in the 3rd country list of the EU, reducing the cost of certification and facilitating Organic products to penetrate the EU member countries.
This will also eliminate tariff barriers on organic agricultural products, and enable the exporters to be competitive in catering to the international markets and fetch a premium price.
Some Certification agencies such as Control Union – formerly known as SKAL International (Netherlands) and IMO (Switzerland) have local inspectors for carrying out inspection in Sri Lanka and also in the region. Presently, there are seven international certification agencies operating in the country, as external inspection or/and certification bodies as listed below
Kosher Certification
A kosher certification agency is an organization that grants a certificate to ingredients, packaged foods, beverages, and certain materials, as well as food-service providers and facilities in which kosher food is prepared or served.
Benefits of Kosher certification for your Products
ISO/IEC 17025 (The Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories)
Ilac – MRA (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, Mutual Recognition Arrangement)
ISO/IEC 17025 enables laboratories to demonstrate that they operate competently and generate valid results, thereby promoting confidence in their work both nationally and around the world. It also helps facilitate cooperation between laboratories and other bodies by generating wider acceptance of results between countries. Test reports and certificates can be accepted from one country to another without the need for further testing, which, in turn, improves international trade.
Why this standard is important
ISO 17025 accredited laboratories have demonstrated that they are technically proficient and able to produce precise and accurate test and calibration data. In most major countries, ISO/IEC 17025 is the standard for which most labs must hold accreditation in order to be deemed technically competent. In many cases, suppliers and regulatory authorities will not accept test or calibration results from a lab that is not accredited.
Key requirements
The two main sections in ISO/IEC 17025 are Management Requirements and Technical Requirements. Management requirements are primarily related to the operation and effectiveness of the quality management system within the laboratory. Technical requirements include factors that determine the correctness and reliability of the tests and calibrations performed in laboratory.
Laboratories are required to plan and implement actions to address risks and opportunities. Addressing both risks and opportunities establishes a basis for increasing the effectiveness of the management system, achieving improved results and preventing negative effects. The laboratory is responsible for deciding which risks and opportunities need to be addressed.
Compliance with regulatory and safety requirements (such as OSHA) on the operation of laboratories is not covered by ISO/IEC 17025.
Third party auditing (assessment) of the laboratory is normally carried out by the national organization responsible for accreditation. Laboratories are therefore accredited under ISO/IEC 17025, rather than certified or registered. Accreditation is a voluntary, third party-reviewed process. As part of accreditation, a laboratory’s quality management system is thoroughly evaluated on a regular basis to ensure continued technical competence and compliance with ISO/IEC 17025. Laboratory accreditation can only be granted by an accreditation body, or AB. In Sri Lanka, assessment is carried out by SLAB (Sri Lanka Accreditation Board).
SLAB publishes a directory of their accredited laboratories, which includes the laboratories’ contact details plus information on their testing capabilities.
SLAB uses the ISO 17025:2017 standard for:
To ensure continued compliance, accredited laboratories are regularly re-assessed to check that they are maintaining their standard of technical expertise. These laboratories are also required to participate in regular proficiency testing programs as an ongoing demonstration of their competence.
A prerequisite for a laboratory to become accredited is to have a documented quality management system. The usual contents of the quality manual follow the outline of the ISO/IEC 17025 standard.
Benefits of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for your company