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1st IFOAM Conference on Organic Certification |
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Introduction
Organic
certification agencies and thus the organic sector are facing many
weighty issues. The burgeoning growth of organic standards and the
increasing complexity of organic certification necessitate broad
stakeholder consultation to assess and define strategies for moving
forward in a unified and systematic way.
Organic certification is
now virtually mandatory for all trade of organic products. Organic
certification bodies have grown both in complexity and number, evolving
from predominately grower cooperatives and farmer unions. Some
certification bodies include large commercial businesses that offer a
variety of product certification, from ISO 9000 and 14000 to organic
certification. Government supervision and regulation of organic
certification has become more common, and some governments and
government bodies have even established certification programs, the
impact of which needs to be assessed for trade in organic products.
With
the 1st IFOAM Conference on Organic Certification IFOAM starts a
serious of conferences dedicated to issues relevant to the organic
certification sector.
Conference Goal
To
improve the performance of organic certification in promoting trade,
upholding integrity and assuring consumers of organic products.
Main objectives of the conference
- Foster dialogue among stakeholders involved in organic certification issues
- Establish and reinforce networks
- Set the future direction of organic certification and harmonization
Target Groups
- Organic certification bodies worldwide, both government and private
- Organic Accreditation bodies, both government and private
- Other government supervision and control bodies
- Consultants
Representative list of conference topics
- Certification body cooperation in the chain of international organic trade - cooperation vs. competition
- Creating efficiencies and innovation in certification: risk based approaches
- Further development of Internal Control Systems (ICS) throughout the world
- Technology innovations in organic certification
- Mutual recognition among certification bodies
- Organic certification quality standards for regulating imports – One International Certification Requirement
- Best practices in organic certification
- Utilizing and benefiting from indigenous knowledge in organic certification systems
Conference Secretariat
IFOAM Head Office
Charles-de-Gaulle-Str.5
53113 Bonn, Germany
Tel: ++49-228-92650-16 |
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