Discussing the third party certification (TPC) system in the organic agriculture; Weaknesses of TPC and imporvement options.

1. Date:
Author:
The Bucharest University of
Economic Studies
Romania
The Third Party
Certification System
for Organic Products
November 28th
2015
NORD 3 –Intercultural Communication
and the Future of Education,
Bucharest, Romania
PhD(c) Adina-Roxana Munteanu
munteanu.adina@gmail.com
20130413_MESMAP_v5.ppt

2. 2
Some of the internationally recognised
certifications

3. 3
The third party certification (TPC)
system
► 1.5 million fairtrade producers
worldwide
► FLOCERT is the independent certifier
for Fairtrade
► FLOCERT is ISO 17065 certified
► FLOCERT is checked by an
independent third party to ensure
compliance with ISO 17065 rules.
► Consumers can be confident that the
international FAIRTRADE Marks are
only used on products that meet the
international Fairtrade Standards
Standard
owner
Certification
body
Producer
Fairtrade
Standard

4. 4
TPC for the organic agriculture
The structure of certification
in the EU
► The standard for
oranic agriculture is
the EU Council
Regulation (EC) No
834/2007
► The TPC system
included accreditation
bodies
► Each MS also has a
supervising authority
► Any operator in EU
can choose and
certification bodies in
EU

5. 5
The weaknesses of the TPC system
Certification
process for the
operator
Audit &
inspection
process
Accreditation of the
certification body
The scope and
purpose of the
TPC
► Inspections are
limited
► Auditing is
mostly
paperwork and
little field word
► More sever
auditing only for
those that made
mistakes
previously
► The accreditation
of the certification
body is not a
transparent
process
► Critique: “it is
about politics
and relations of
power”
► Caveat: ‘‘true
independence’’
is essential
The TPC system has both supporters and critics

6. 6
Improving the TPC system
Certification
process for the
operator
Audit &
inspection
process
Accreditation of the
certification body
The scope and
purpose of the
TPC
► Cost
transparency –
understanding
the price
structure of the
certification
body and
choosing
accordingly
► A risk-based
method for
auditing –
increase
scrutiny of the
trouble makers
► More transparent
reporting and
more info
reaching the
consumer
► A science based
and objective -
TPC is governed
by technical
rules and
procedures
► TPC is also a
type of
governance
These measures could improve the performance of TPC
but also increase the price of certification

7. Date:
Author:
The Bucharest University of
Economic Studies
Romania
The Third Party Certification
System for Organic Products
November 28th
2015
NORD 3 –Intercultural Communication
and the Future of Education,
Bucharest, Romania
PhD(c) Adina-Roxana Munteanu
munteanu.adina@gmail.com
Thank you!