In autumn 2014, International Certification Services (ICS) and Oregon Tilth (OTCO) two US based NOP accredited certifiers signed the contract with Check Organic making sure that certification data of their certified operators can be found at Check Organic search. At BIOFACH 2015 a number of certifiers will follow suit, expanding the certification data available. Also, FEDERBIO and Organic Services will sign a cooperation contract for making Italian certification data available. Four members of the Certification Alliance started to use Ecert for certification procedures and will deliver certification data soon.
Once a market relevant number of certificates will be available in Check Organic, the search functionality will go live. We will notify you! Stay tuned and register here.
In cooperation with Intact Consult GmbH (provider of the Ecert database) and datamints GmbH (a web agency) Organic Services has developed easy data entry from certifiers to Check Organic via Web Form (for CBs with small number of certified operations), Excel-upload and Web-service for Ecert user (automated data transfer).
Interested CBs should contact Organic Services, Frank Gerriets to receive the template data supplier contract and the guidance on how to submit data to Check Organic. Contact f.gerriets@organic-services.com
Check Organic has approached various governments to make certification data available from their databases, which would make data from whole countries available in real time globally. The benefit for companies through enhanced visibility in international markets is substantial.
Cooperation with private certification databases on national level has been and still is under discussion to make use of their data, and not to reinvent the wheel. Cooperation is beneficial as Check Organic offers to refund part of the verification fees generated through the web-search functionality to local organizations and by making data globally visible.
Cooperation with Check Organic is free of charge and on top CBs receive a refund if their data is verified! Learn more and contact f.gerriets@organic-services.com or g.herrmann@organic-services.com
Check Organic is in negotiations with local organic experts and organizations who are interested in offering and implementing services offered, e.g. supply chain mapping. Supply chain mapping is a service for traders and processors to visually build individual supply chains on local, regional and global level and to connect them with certification data, so that the conformity of supply chains can be monitored in real time. Such service will save big on staff time today busy with safeguarding certificates via phone and mail.
Check Organic logo has been registered in different markets, among them the USA and the EU.
Find the presentations Gerald A. Herrmann delivered at the IFOAM EU Conference in Paris, November 2014 and at the Sustainable Foods Summit in San Francisco, January 2015. You might also find the article by Gerald A. Herrmann in ‘The Organic Standard’ 2015 of interest.
Find presentations and article here.
