(Promulgated by The State Environmental Protection Administration on June 19, 2001)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Measures are formulated with a view to standardizing the administration of organic food certification, promoting the healthy and orderly development of organic foods, preventing pollution and destruction of such chemical materials as pesticide and fertilizer, etc. to the environment, guaranteeing the health of human body, and protecting the ecological environment.
Article 2 Organic foods mentioned in these Measures mean the agricultural products and the products processed from them, which meet the following conditions:
(1) meeting the requirements of State standards on food hygiene and the technical specifications for organic foods;
(2) not using such chemical materials as pesticide, fertilizer, growth hormone, chemical additive, chemical pigment and antiseptic, etc. in the process of producing materials or processing products, and not using the genetic engineering technology;
(3) having passed the certification of the organic foods certification institution provided in these Measures and using the mark of organic foods.
Article 3 These Measures shall apply to the entities and individuals engaged in organic food certification or production and operation of organic foods within the territory of the People's Republic of China.
Chapter II Administration on Organic Food Certification Institution
Article 4 The State shall implement qualification examination on organic food certification institutions. An entity engaged in organic food certification must, in accordance with the procedures provided in these Measures, apply to the Organic Food Ratification Committee established by State Environmental Protection Administration for obtaining the qualification certificate for organic food certification institution.
Article 5 An entity applying for a qualification certificate for organic food certification institution shall meet the following requirements:
(1) having an independent qualification as a legal person;
(2) having 3 or more technicians with senior technical titles in relevant specialties and 5 or more technicians with intermediate technical titles in relevant specialties, who are engaged in full-time organic food certification;
(3) having funds, facilities, fixed working site and other relevant working conditions which the organic food certification requires.
Article 6 An entity applying for the qualification certificate for organic food certification institution shall file the application to the Organic Food Ratification Committee, and meanwhile submit the following documents:
(1) attesting documents on the qualification as a legal person;
(2) attesting documents on the qualifications of the full-time technicians;
(3) attesting material on the organic food certification such as funds, facilities, fixed working site and other relevant working conditions;
(4) other documents required by the Organic Food Ratification Committee.
Article 7 The Organic Food Ratification Committee shall, within 20 days as of its receipt of the application documents, make a decision on whether to accept the application or not, and notify the applying entity in writing. It shall state the reason if the application is not accepted.
Article 8 The Organic Food Ratification Committee shall complete the examination within 40 days as of its acceptance of the application.
The Organic Food Ratification Committee shall issue the qualification certificate for organic food certification institution to the entity that is examined and has met the qualification requirements.
An entity may not be engaged in the organic food certification before obtaining the qualification certificate for organic food certification institution.
Article 9 The qualification certificates for organic food certification institution shall be made and issued by the Organic Food Ratification Committee.
No entity or individual shall forge, alter or transfer the qualification certificate for organic food certification institution.
Article 10 An organic food certification institution shall comply with the following principles in organic food certification:
(1) justness, fairness and independence;
(2) making known the standards, procedures and results of certification;
(3) maintaining clients' technological and business secrets.
Article 11 An organic food certification institution shall accept the supervision and inspection of the Organic Food Ratification Committee on its certification.
An organic food certification institution shall carry out regular inspections on the organic foods certified by itself.
Article 12 An organic food certification institution shall, within 1 month after it issues the certificate of organic food certification, submit a copy of the said certificate issued by itself to the Organic Food Ratification Committee for record.
Different organic food certification institutions shall cooperate with each other, and share the information on certification.
Article 13 An organic food certification institution shall submit an annual work report of the last year to the Organic Food Ratification Committee by January 15 of each year, and shall accept the assessment in the annual inspection of the Organic Food Ratification Committee.
Article 14 An organic food certification institution and its employees shall not be engaged in the non-gratuitous consultation or the production and operation of organic foods.
Article 15 An organic food certification institution shall carry out the organic food certification in compliance with the principles and procedures provided in these Measures and the technical specifications provided by the Organic Food Ratification Committee, and shall not practice frauds or deceive the clients.
Chapter III Certification Administration of Organic Food Production and Operation
Article 16 An entity or individual engaged in the production or operation of organic foods must, in accordance with the provisions in this Chapter and the type of the operation of organic food it plans to be engaged in, apply to the organic food certification institution for the following types of organic food certifications, so as to obtain the corresponding certificate of organic food certifications:
(1) certification on base production of organic foods;
(2) certification on the processing of organic foods;
(3) certification on the trading of organic foods.
Article 17 An entity or individual applying for organic food certification shall file a written application for certification to the organic food certification institution, and provide its/his business license or other qualification documents that can prove its/his lawful operation.
For an application for certification on base production of organic foods, a report on the quality of the base environment and other relevant documents provided in the technical specifications on organic foods must be submitted in addition.
For an application for certification on the processing of organic foods, the following documents must be submitted in addition: an attestation proving the sources of processing materials to be organic foods, the executive standards for the products, the processing technology (flow, procedures), the attestation issued by the administrative department for environmental protection at the city (region) level or above that the processing enterprise's pollution discharge is reasonable and below the limit permitted, and the other relevant documents provided in the technical specifications on organic foods.
For an application for certification on the trading of organic foods, an attestation proving the sources of the traded products to be organic foods and the other relevant documents provided in the technical specifications on organic foods must be submitted in addition.
Article 18 An organic food certification institution shall, within 10 days after receiving the written application for certification and the relevant documents, give its opinion on whether to accept the application or not, and shall state the reason if the application is not accepted.
Article 19 An organic food certification institution shall organize and complete the certification within 90 days as of the date when it agrees to accept the application.
If an entity or individual is certified to be qualified, the organic food certification institution shall issue to it/him the certificate for base production of organic foods, the certificate for the processing of organic foods and the certificate for the trading of organic foods (hereinafter referred to as the certificate of conformity of organic food certification in general) on the basis of the application and the type of the organic food certifications.
Article 20 The format of the certificate of conformity of organic food certification shall be uniformly stipulated by the Organic Food Ratification Committee.
The certificate of conformity of organic food certification must be used within the defined scope.
No entity or individual shall forge, alter or transfer the certificate of conformity of organic food certification.
Article 21 The validity period of a certificate of conformity of organic food certification shall be two years.
Where an entity or individual producing or operating organic foods needs to continue using the certificate of conformity of organic food certification after the validity period of the said certificate has expired, it/he must file a new application to the original organic food certification institution within 1 month before the expiry of the validity period; the entity or individual who has not obtained the re-certification for the organic foods in operation shall not continue using the certificate of conformity of organic food certification.
Article 22 The inspection and test on the samples of organic food certification shall be made by an inspection institution recognized by the relevant department.
The monitoring work on the quality of the base environment for organic foods shall be undertaken by the environmental monitoring station affiliated to the administrative department for environmental protection at the city (region) level or above.
Article 23 Where, within the validity period of the certificate of conformity of organic food certification, an entity or individual producing or operating organic foods is under any of the following circumstances, it/he shall go through the modification formalities in the organic food certification institution:
(1) the entity or individual holding such a certificate has changed;
(2) the type (specification) of the product has been changed;
(3) the name of the product has been changed;
(4) a new trademark is used;
(5) the sources of processing materials for the organic foods or the sources of the traded products for the organic foods have been changed.
Article 24 An entity or individual engaged in the production or operation of organic foods shall abide by the following provisions:
(1) it/he shall accept the supervision and inspection of the organic food certification institution;
(2) it/he shall, in case of any modification in the certified contents, report the modification to the organic food certification institution and go through the formalities for the modification;
(3) it/he shall keep the files for the operation and management system and files for the production, processing and trading of the organic foods;
(4) it/he must, when publicizing the organic foods, guarantee the authenticity of the publicized contents;
(5) it/he shall hold post trainings for the employees engaged in the business of organic foods in its/his own entity.
Article 25 An entity or individual who has obtained the certificate for base production of organic foods shall define the regional scope, mark the location, set up a protection mark, and make an announcement in time.
Chapter IV Administration on the Marks of Organic Foods
Article 26 An entity or individual who has obtained the certificate of conformity of organic food certification may use the mark of organic foods on the labels, packages, advertisements and guidebooks of the products provided in its/his certificate of conformity of organic food certification.
Article 27 The figure and pattern of the mark of organic foods shall be uniformly provided by the Organic Food Ratification Committee.
When the mark of organic foods is used, it may be magnified or minified in equal proportion according to the needs, but its shape or color shall not be changed.
When the mark of organic foods is used, the number of the certificate of conformity of organic food certification for the product shall be printed below the figure of the mark at the same time.
Article 28 The mark of organic foods must be used within the defined scope.
Article 29 No entity or individual shall forge, alter or transfer the mark of organic foods.
Article 30 An entity or individual producing or operating organic foods must, when the organic foods are polluted or mixed up with inorganic foods in the process of production, processing or sale, inform the original organic food certification institution of the situation in time, cease using the mark of organic foods on such foods, and shall not produce, process or sell them as organic foods.
Chapter V Penalty Provisions
Article 31 If an organic food certification institution commits any of the following acts in violation of these Measures, it shall be given a warning by the Organic Food Ratification Committee, and be required to make a rectification within a time limit; where it fails to meet the requirements within the said time limit, its qualification certificate for organic food certification institution shall be canceled:
(1) to forge, alter or transfer the qualification certificate for organic food certification institution in violation of Paragraph 2, Article 9 of these Measures;
(2) to be assessed unqualified in the annual inspection;
(3) to be engaged in the non-gratuitous consultation or in the production and operation of organic foods in violation of Article 14 of these Measures;
(4) to practice frauds or deceive the clients in the process of certification in violation of Article 15.
Article 32 Where any certified organic foods do not meet the requirements on the standards or specifications in the certificate of conformity of organic food certification, the original organic food certification institution shall temporarily withhold the said certificate or revoke it according to the specific situation.
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Article 33 These Measures shall come into force as of the date of their promulgation. The Articles of Association on the Administration of the Marks of Organic (Natural) Foods (for trial implementation) promulgated by the original State Environmental Protection Administration in 1995 shall be repealed simultaneously. Promulgated by The State Environmental Protection Administration on 2001-6-19
