CHALLENGES OF GROUP OF OPERATORS (GoO) TO GET CERTIFIED ACCORDING TO THE NEW EU ORGANIC REGULATION 848/2028

CCPB is a certification body present in the Mediterranean area with satellite offices in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey. The organic certified “Group of Operators” (GoO) present in the Mediterranean area are mainly for typical products of the country exported to the EU like for example olive oil and dates from Tunisia & Algeria, Argan oil from Morocco, and Hazelnuts from Turkey.

With the new EU Regulation 848/2018 even small producers in non-EU Countries will need to comply with the EU rules (no longer in an “equivalent” way), and most groups of operators will experience the rules as stricter. The certification bodies in third countries must switch from “Equivalence” to “Compliance”. It means that most requirements will apply directly to farms and groups of operators in third countries.

The first challenge to resolve for the organic EU certification of GoO in the Mediterranean area is to separate between Processor/Exporter and farmers/producers it means that a separate legal farmer group entity can be certified as GoO. The common situation in the Mediterranean countries is that the Processor/Exporter is part of the GoO and the owner of the organic certificate. The current relationship between the Processor/exporter and farmers of the group is that the Processor/exporter has a contract production with the single farmer and now with the new regulation it is not in line with Art 36.1 of regulation 848/2028 as the legal entity is not composed of farmers and only a separate legal farmer group entity can be certified as GoO.

This new EU Regulation 848/2018 includes detailed basic organizational requirements for (GoO) as well as detailed requirements for the Internal Control System (ICS).

Group of Operators: Composition & Size:

• Maximum 2000 organic members in GoO
• GoO shall be composed only of organic or in-conversion farmers as members, who meet new size/turnover limits (< 5 ha total land, < 25.000€ organic turnover). The total land surface under the management of the member is a compulsory element in the GoO members list. It must be registered by the ICS for each member. (Reg. 2021/279, Art 5 (a) (iv))
• GoO must have a “legal personality”.

Transitional provisions (Art. 10 (1) Reg. EU 279/2021)

Groups of operators in third countries complying with Regulations (EC) No 834/2007, (EC) No 889/2008, and (EC) No 1235/2008 before the date of entry into application of this Regulation and for which important administrative, legal and structural changes are necessary with regard to the maximum size of the group of operators laid down in the second paragraph of Article 4 of this Regulation, shall comply with that provision from 1 January 2025 at the latest.

It is clear from Article 10 (1) of Regulation 279/2021 that already certified producer groups have a transition period until 31 December 2024 to comply with this new size rule. This means that non-certified groups cannot profit from this transition provision. The new GoO must comply with the new rules of EU Regulation.

In many current certification producer group projects, a new separate farmer group entity will be needed for GoO certification, composed of organic or in-conversion farmers as members and with legal personality. This is required for processors, but may also be required for cooperatives and farmer societies with non-organic members in their collective marketing system or with central processing units or more than the 2000 certified members.

The “ICS manager” has a key role in the GoO:

• Verify eligibility of GoO members,
• approve new GoO members or new production units or activities of members
• Develop ICS procedures, documents and records
• Assign tasks to ICS inspectors; schedule internal inspection and ensure adequate implementation
• Decide on measures in case of non-compliances
• Be a liaison to the CB; decide on notifications to the CB
• Decide on subcontracting activities and sign agreements
• Train ICS inspectors and annually assess their competencies

 To conclude the inspection of a GoO and evaluation of an ICS is also a challenge for Certification Bodies. The external inspector needs to evaluate a quality management system and compliance assessment activities against many sections of the EU Regulation. This is why GoO inspection should be done by approved experienced inspectors with specific training and practical experience not only in plant production and processing but also in GoO and ICS evaluation.