As already indicated, the importation and sale as
organic of both green and processed coffee must comply with the legal
regulations of the consuming countries. This compliance needs to be verified by
a third party; the procedure is called certification. It is important to realize
that different rules apply in different
countries.
The certification procedure includes a number of
steps. Note that there is a clear distinction between the certification of an
operator to produce organic coffee, and the certification of an export shipment
to be imported as organic coffee.
- Registration. The producer selects a
certification organization (certifier for short) and signs a contract. The
producer provides information on their farm/processing facilities and is
registered.
- Inspection. At least once a year the certifier
inspects the production and processing facilities.
- Certification. The inspection report is the
basis for deciding whether a master certificate can be granted or
not.
- Control
certificate (formerly called transaction certificate). This must be
issued for every export shipment to the European Union, the United States and
Japan, indicating the exact quantity and organic origin, after which the goods
may be exported/imported as organic.
The certification process includes an assessment of
the grower's production and export capacity against which the authenticity of
future export transactions will be tested. This is to ensure that sellers of
organic products do not exceed their registered capacity. Also, in the European
Union organic products can be labelled as such only once the entire production
and handling chain, from the grower through to the importer, has been inspected
and certified.