As an organic certifier, you play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the organic sector. By uploading data into Check Organic, you help to reveal food fraud at its very source whilst protecting your own and your clients' reputation. The platform goes beyond easily falsified, paper-based organic certificates by mapping product transaction data and linking it with your certification data in real-time. Based on the certified organic acreage, expected yield and actual trading and processing transactions, the system calculates a mass balance and checks the plausibility of produced and processed vs. sold organic quantities, displaying every supply chain party's integrity status via an intuitive traffic light system. Such plausibility includes first processing of raw materials, e.g. oil, powder, pulp.
All your data is logically structured and centralised, allowing for efficient administration, quick and sound data analysis and providing meaningful reports, e.g. delivery overviews. With our GIS data integration module, satellite data can be linked to certification data and hence facilitate remote inspections, the collection and verification of acreage data, crops and yields. Digitising your certification data within the online platform prevents you from losing precious data, which is safely stored with an ISO-certified Austrian hosting provider. To secure your data privacy, your customer base cannot be viewed by competitors.
With Check Organic, your administration as well as your audits and inspections become more efficient. The tool allows you to comprehend your clients' supply chain structures and their suppliers' integrity status before your inspectors are on site. During the inspection, they can then focus on detecting potential weaknesses right away, conduct mass balance calculations - that will soon enough be required by EU and US authorities anyways - and save precious time and money.
By uploading your data into Check Organic, your organisation gains visibility within the industry. The platform allows you to connect to potential clients worldwide whilst displaying integrity and professionalism. Your accreditation bodies will appreciate your level of transparency, which will support smooth accreditation processes and boost your reputation.
To access and manage the data of his certified operations (clients) in Check Organic, Adam gets on his computer and logs into the Web Portal with his username and password.
The data of Adam's clients, such as contact and contract details, range of products, applied certification standards, and correlating certification status, are stored safely and easily accessible in Check Organic. Furthermore, photos or documents, such as analyses, reports, or notes, can be added via a file upload.
The supply chain structures of Adam’s clients are neatly documented in the Check Organic List Management, allowing him to understand the complexity of their supply chains by simply logging into Check Organic. Furthermore, the system displays all involved actors with their respective integrity status (one traffic light for the certification check, one for the mass balance check). Practically, Adam can have all actors displayed on a clear dashboard, a simple graph or even localised on a world map.
Adam calculates a mass balance for every client and thereby fulfils the recently announced EU and US integrity requirements. Based on the certified organic acreage, expected yield and actual trading and processing transactions, the mass balance reveals the plausibility of produced vs. sold organic quantities. Consequently, Adam helps to uncover food fraud at its very source whilst protecting his own and his clients' reputation.
Based on the certification status Adam assigns to his clients, Check Organic displays a corresponding traffic light. He can also see the traffic lights of his clients' business partners and gain a quick integrity insight on both certification and mass balance level. If one of his clients has a yellow or red traffic light, Adam will be notified straight away and can immediately start his investigations.
Adam is a busy man: he can't sit in front of his computer all day checking the traffic lights in Check Organic. Luckily, this is not necessary, since the system automatically sends out notifications in real-time to alert all parties. These changes can be initiated by Adam himself or be a result of ongoing mass balance checks.
In order to speed up data entry, Adam can use the Check Organic excel uploader or set up an interface. Check Organic also provides a convenient webservice. This allows him to transfer all relevant data into the system within just a few clicks, saving him precious time that he would otherwise spend on manual data entry.
On a regular basis, Adam runs automated reports to analyse the integrity of his clients. This allows for efficient administration and is especially useful for preparing inspections. It further helps him to justify any status changes that he initiates.
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At the BIOFACH 2020 congress, Albrecht Benzing, Quality Manager at CERES GmbH, presented his thoughts on what leads to some of the integrity problems we have in the organic sector. Click below for more information, videos and slides...
During the same session, Dr. Jochen Neuendorff, Managing Director of GfRS and David Crucefix, Executive Director and Lead Auditor at IOAS called for performance, not just compliance. Read on...
Jennifer Tucker, Deputy Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP), presented upcoming regulatory changes in the United States to strengthening organic enforcement. Read on...
