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The Centre for Systems Integration, a division of the Canadian Seed Institute, was created to simplify certification under multiple programs for the agricultural and forestry sectors.
 
Certification Process and Services

CSI offers organic certification to a number of schemes. This general overview (PDF) of the CSI organic certification process will help you understand the steps along the way to obtaining organic certification for your operation. For information on CSIs fee schedule, please contact the CSI Ottawa office. If you go to the Forms page, you will find all the forms you need to complete and send into the office to start the application process.

Scroll down or click on the following links to read more about the programs offered.

 

 

Canadian Organic Products Regulation

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) amended regulation on organic products was published on June 24, 2009.  The regulation will come into effect as of June 30, 2009.

The regulation can be obtained here.

Part I of the COS, the “Organic Production Systems General Principles and Management Standards (CAN/CGSB-32-310-2006), details the practices that are acceptable in organic agriculture production systems.

Part II of the COS, the “Organic Production Systems Permitted Substances Lists (PSL) (CAN/CGSB-32.311-2006), lists substances that are permitted for use in the Canada Organic Regime.

CSI is listed by CFIA as an accredited certifying body. For more information on the Canadian Organic Regime click here

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National Organic Program

CSI is accredited by the National Organic Program (NOP) as an organic certifying agent. NOP certification or issuance of a Canada/US Equivalency document is necessary for anyone exporting product to the US.

  • Click here to download the latest version of the NOP Rule. To access the NOP home page, click here.

In addition to the NOP standard, you can access all recent regulatory amendments and proposals by reading the Federal Register Notices in the NOP Newsroom.

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Japan (JAS) Organic Certification

The CSI is the first Canadian-owned and operated organic certification body to be recognized as a Registered Overseas Certifying Body under the Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS). CSI was granted JAS accreditation on September 8, 2008, following an extensive on-site audit and review by Japanese officials.

CSI now offers JAS certification farms and processing facilities directly under the JAS law. The certification process involves a CSI-recognized organic inspector visiting a business to inspect their operations against the submitted organic system plan and check it against the JAS organic agricultural product standards. The inspectors report is reviewed by CSI Canada, and if the operation is in compliance with JAS, CSI will grant organic certification.
Certification decisions are made from the Canadian office with the CSI Japan office ensuring proper coordination with Japanese MAFF officials.

The JAS standards can be obtained here. Click on Standards and Technical Criteria under the JAS logo.

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European Union.

Trained by a European organic certification body, procedures and guidance documents prepared for CSI by European experts and accredited by a European authority against EN 45011 for standards equivalent to Council Regulation (EC) Regulation 834/2007 and Commission Regulation (EC) Regulation 889/2008, the CSI is the best choice for gaining access of your organic products into the EU.

Effective January 1, 2009 the EU has implemented a new set of organic regulations: Council Regulation (EC) 834/2007, Commission Regulation (EC) 889/2008 and Commission Regulation (EC) 1235/2008. Consequently, CSI is requiring all operations that are seeking EU certification to submit a complete application package. The standards can be obtained here. Further information is also available from this website.

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Conseil des appellation rserves et des termes valorisants (CARTV)

As a CFIA accredited certification body, CSI certified operations outside the province of Quebec can ship their organic product into the province. To view the CARTVs policy, please click here.

CSI is not accredited by CARTV to certify operations in Quebec.

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Bio-Suisse Approval for Export to Switzerland

CSI is also able to incorporate the Bio-Suisse requirements into our EU inspections to assist a client in obtaining Bio-Suisse approval. The following link will take you to the Bio-Suisse Import/Export page, where the requirements for export of farm or processed products are detailed.

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