ORGANIC CERTIFICATION PROCESS
ORGANIC AGRICULTURE CERTIFICATION PROCESS 1. Application Procedures Producers wishing to certify their products according to organic agriculture must first submit their information to CTR using the relevant Organic Agriculture Application Form. After evaluation by the Product Certification Department, a proposal will be prepared for the applicant and submitted for their approval.
Upon approval of the proposal, the producer sends us all necessary information regarding the product/production area to be certified, processing areas if post-harvest processing is involved, commercial brands under which the product is traded, and countries where the product is marketed, along with any relevant documents prepared regarding the system.
Organic agriculture certification in Turkey and abroad can be conducted in parallel. Therefore, an operator may apply for different certification scopes or just one.
Once all information and documents are received in full from the applicant, they are reviewed by the CTR Certification Department, and a inspection plan suitable for the process is prepared.
2. Inspection Process Inspections are conducted to determine the operator's compliance level according to relevant standards. Inspections may be announced or unannounced depending on risk analysis. Sampling for analysis purposes may also be conducted during or after inspections. The usage of any input not specified in the regulations of organic agriculture is prohibited. Certification in organic agriculture is granted to operators who demonstrate sufficient compliance.
Operators found not to meet the required compliance level are given a specified period to rectify their non-compliance. To obtain certification, the operator must prove that they have addressed their non-compliance issues by the end of this period.
3. Certification Issuance As the Decision Maker for Organic Agriculture Certification, the Certifier evaluates the inspection results separately. If no obstacles are identified, Organic Agriculture Certificates are issued for the relevant products, valid for 1 year from the certification date, compliant with the conversion period. Certificates must undergo annual re-evaluation to maintain validity.
4. Product Certificate Following the issuance of the certificate for the operator, necessary controls are conducted to prepare a "Product Certificate/ COI (Certificate of Inspection)" allowing the sale of organic or in-conversion products.
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Organic Agriculture Certification Process Flow Chart.