Implementing a quality schemes in Finland
– the example of quality scheme “Luomu”
for organic production
Sampsa Heinonen
Unit Director
SEMINAR
“Quality Schemes – better price for producers, higher awareness for consumers”
Tallinn, November 26, 2008
Background of the Speaker
In organics since 1985
– Inspector/researcher/advi
sor 1988 - 1993
– Senior Officer at the
Finnish Food Safety
Authority Evira 1994 2008
– Chief Audit Manager at
Evira 2008
– Unit Director at Finfood
Luomu – Organic Food
Promotion since August
2008
Work in the IFOAM Organic
Guarantee System
– Pro bono Member of the
Board of IFOAM
Accreditation Programme
1990 - 2005
In the EC Green paper the Commission asks
about food-quality certification schemes:
• Goals - Meeting the main societal demands concerning product
characteristics and farming methods?
• Risk of consumers being misled?
• Costs and benefits for farmers and other producers (often small- and
medium-sized enterprises)
• Involvement of producers' organisations?
• EU guidelines and their criteria to contribute to a more coherent
development?
• Reducing administrative costs and burdens?
• Role of private schemes in assisting and promoting EU exports?
• Facilitating market access for producers in developing countries?
Source
EC Green paper: Agricultural product quality: product standards, farming requirements
and quality schemes, COM (2008)641 final, October 15th 2008
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/policy/consultation/greenpaper_en.pdf
In this presentation I will
• Discuss Organic Certification System as Quality
System
• Principles of Conformity Assessment Systems
• Principles of Certification of Organic Production
• A standard certification procedure
• Present the Case Luomu Ladybird
• Story of a private certification system for organic
production with additional requirements and
emphasis on quality systems
• Introduce an approach to certification known as
Participatory Guarantee System (PGS)
Standards and conformity assessment
Standards
•
Standards are documented, voluntary agreements which establish
important criteria for products, services and processes. Standards,
therefore, help to make sure that products and services are fit for
their purpose and are comparable and compatible.
Conformity assessment
•
The technical term given to the process of evaluation and
approval.
Methods of Conformity Assesment:
Testing, Inspection and Certification
Testing
• Most common form of conformity assessment. It can include other activities
like measurement and calibration. Testing also provides the basis for other
forms - for example, it is the main technique used in product certification.
• The general requirements for laboratories or other organizations to be
considered competent to carry out testing, calibration and sampling.
Inspection
• Examination of a huge range of products, materials, installations, plants,
processes, work procedures and services, in the private as well as the
public sector, and report on such parameters as quality, fitness for use and
continuing safety in operation.
Certification/registration
• Certification/registration is when a third party gives written assurance that a
product (including services), process, personnel, organization or system
conforms to specific requirements.
How conformity assessment works?
• First-party assessment. Conformity assessment to a standard,
specification or regulation is carried out by the supplier organization
itself (=self-assessment, known as a supplier's declaration of
conformity, SDoC)
• Second-party assessment. Carried out by a customer of the
supplier organization. For example, the supplier invites a potential
customer to verify that the products which it is offering conform to
relevant ISO product standards.
• Third-party assessment. The conformity assessment is performed
by a body that is independent of both supplier and customer
organizations. An example is ISO 9000 certification where an
organization's quality management system is assessed by an
independent "certification" or "registration" body against the
requirements of an ISO 9000 standard.
Conformity Assessment in Brief
Types of Certification
• Product certification (initial testing +
surveillance)
• Type testing (sample product)
• Management system certification (ISO9000)
Certification in Organic Production
• Is a combination of certification of
– Product
– Production system
– Processing method
– Quality management system
• The ‘organic’ quality cannot be verified through
specifications or product testing!
Two approaches to certified (organic) quality
”Holistic approach”
– Representing the core values based on principles of the organic
movement,
– defined in the organic and other relevant standards (EU Regulation,
IFOAM Norms, SA8000 etc.) and
– applied specifically to organic production
”Technical approach”
– Derived from generic international technical standards and
guidelines,
– defined and applied – when needed – in both organic and
conventional production systems as standards and legal
requirements (e.g. ISO Norms on conformity assessment, FAO
Guidelines on HACCP etc.)
Characteristics of Organic Certification
• Organic agriculture and its quality assurance
system(s) is very young, is dynamic and certainly
also needs further development
• Two movements
– Private sector, voluntary standards
– Public sector, regulations
A standard certification procedure
• Application
• Operator
questionnaire/description
• Application accepted
• Initial inspection visit
• Certification
decision/conditions
• Contract
• General certificate &
transaction certificates
• Annual renewal
• Annual surveillance
(inspection visit/audit)
What is an inspection ?
•
•
•
•
•
Confirmation of compliance with standard?
Filling of a checklist with a bit of observation?
Confirmation that licensee statement is correct?
Challenge, investigation of compliance, or
Risk assessment and assurance that all risks are
addressed in the operator’s quality system?
• Not sufficiently used:
– Use of random residue analyses
– The element of surprise (unannounced)
Organic Certification Systen as Quality System
Basic
standards
Legal minimum
requirements
Private quality and
organic standards
Farm Quality
Management
Hand book
(ISO 9001)
Codex,
IFOAM
Norms,
ISO 65
EU Regulation
2092/91
Additional
organic
requirements
(like USDA
NOP)
GMP
GlobalGAP
KRAV
ISO 9000 Quality Management Principles
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Focus on your customers
Provide leadership
Involve your people
Use a process approach
Take a systems approach
Encourage continual
improvement
Get the facts before you
decide
Work with your suppliers
Source: ISO 9000:2005, Quality management systems.
Fundamentals and vocabulary
Continuos improvement approach in organic
certification
Plan
Correct /Act
Do
Control
Quality management approach in organic
certification system of Evira
• The compulsory Organic Management Plan can be a part
of a overall farm quality managent system
• Organic inspection visits can be used as quality audits
and as a method of continuous improvement on organic
farms.
• Examples of means:
– Farmer’s self-evaluation forms with questions and check lists
– Feedback - both positive and corrective and not only on
certification issues - by the inspector/ certifier may be used for
development purposes.
• There should be special emphasis on dialogue between
the operator and the certifier!
Luomu Ladybird Quality Scheme 1
• The Ladybird quality logo is owned and administered by
the Finnish Association for Organic Farming, Luomuliitto
since 1987
• Granting the logo was based on organic standards of
Luomuliitto.
• It was the most important organic logo in Finland until
1998.
• In 1998 the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry launced its
national organic Sun logo based on the Council Regulation
(EEC) No. 2092/91.
• The use of the Sun logo is free for certified operators.
Luomu Ladybird Quality Scheme 2
• The Ladybird logo started to loose its popularity.
• In 2004 Luomuliitto decided to base granting the logo
to the quality standards of Luomuliitto.
• The standards are additional to the Council Regulation
(EEC) No. 2092/91 and consist of compulsory
requirements and recommendations.
Luomu Ladybird Quality Scheme 3
• The compulsory requirements include
– membership of Luomuliitto and
– production based on quality management system
(ISO9001 or equivalent)
– all animal manure used for growing products
intended directly for human consumption must be
composted.
• The basic ingredients of processed products must
be 100 percent of Finnish origin and at least 75
percent of ingredients in total.
• It is recommended that 100 percent of animal feeds
are of Finnish origin.
Luomu Ladybird Quality Scheme 4
• Today the logo is mainly used on vegetables
• It has not gained back its popularity but it is
still well recognized by the consumers.
• The new EU logo may bring a new chance for
the Ladybird!
Good (Certified) Quality System á la Organic
• Simple, but includes opportunity for multiple certifications
(organic /quality /environment etc.)
• Cheap (for small operators)
• Understandable to operator
• Easy to communicate to consumers
• Participatory
– Emphasis on continual improvement and dialogue, not only on
compliance
– Group certification and internal control systems are opportunities
for small producers
”Sounds good, but where to find such Systems?”
Participatory guarantee systems (PGS)
• Developed to counter some of the problems associated
with mainstream organic certification (such as high
costs, extensive bureaucracy, inflexible processes, and a
lack of community development focus),
• PGSs are based on the standards of mainstream
certification agencies, but differ in that they adapt them
to suit e.g.
–
–
–
–
local conditions,
employ simple verification procedures,
minimize bureaucracy and costs, and
incorporate an element of environmental and social education for
both producers and consumers.
Key Elements of PGSs
1. Conscious shared vision that farmers and consumers
have in the core principles guiding the program.
2. Participatory - intense involvement by those interested
in the production and consumption of these products. The
credibility of the production quality is a consequence
of participation.
3. Transparency - All stakeholders, including farmers, must
be aware of exactly how the guarantee mechanism
generally works.
4. Trust - “integrity based (on cultural) approach”
5. Learning Process - Provide more than a certificate
6. Horizontality - Sharing of power.
Key Features of a PGS (1/2)
1. Norms conceived by the stakeholders through a democratic and
participatory process, but always in accordance with the
commonly understood sense of what constitutes an organic
product. The norms should stimulate creativity, which is a
characteristic of organic farmers, instead of inhibit it.
2. Grassroots Organization: The Participatory Certification should be
perceived as a result of a social dynamic, based on an active
organization of all stakeholders.
3. Is appropriate to smallholder agriculture, because the
participatory nature and horizontal structure of the programs allows
for more appropriate and less costly mechanisms of certification,
and actually highlights and celebrates and encourages consumers
to seek out smallholders.
4. Principles and values that enhance the livelihoods and well being of
farming families and promote organic agriculture.
Key Features of a PGS (2/2)
5. Mechanisms to verify farmer’s compliance to the established norms,
which is able to stimulate participation, organization, and which
allow a learning process for all the stakeholders.
6. Mechanisms for supporting farmers to produce organic products
and be certified as organic farmers, to include field advisors,
newsletters, farm visits, web sites etc.
7. Should have a bottom-line document, for example a farmer’s pledge
stating his/her agreement with the established norms.
8. Seals or labels providing evidence of organic status.
9. Clear and previously defined consequences for farmers not
complying with standards, actions recorded in a data base or made
public in some way.
Source: http://www.ifoam.org/about_ifoam/standards/pgs.html
Impact of the adoption of participatory guarantee
systems (PGS) - the case of Rede Ecovida in Brasil
• Broad and flexible relationships, within the PGS process,
– strengthened the ties among stakeholders,
– helped farmers understanding not only the importance of
organic farming but also how to start a community based
local organic market.
• Trustworthy institution (Rede Ecovida) and social cohesion
helped expanding PGS among farmers;
– this apply also to consumers, accepting products coming
from areas not directly under the local social control.
Source: Zanasi & Venturi 2008 http://orgprints.org/11618/01/Zanasi_11618_ed.doc
Tao of Leadership - Old Chinese Poem
Go to the people
Live with them
Love them
Learn from them
Start with what they have
Build on what they know
But of the best leaders
When their task is accomplished
Their work is done
The people will all remark
We have done it ourselves
Thank you!