Five certifying bodies have been barred from clearing or ratifying exports of Indian processed organic food products due to their failure to comply with European Union standards and ensure contamination-free products. The European Commission proposed an amendment to the implementing regulation last week regarding the recognition of control authorities and control bodies (certifying agencies) for allowing the import of organic products into the Union.
According to this, TQ Cert Services has been barred from certifying processed organic food products at the request of the Indian government, after the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority of India (APEDA) barred the company from clearing or certifying exports. The EU recognizes APEDA as the competent authority.
Control Union Certifications, Ecocert SA, Lacon GmbH, and OneCert International Pvt have all been suspended for failing to meet EU organic product import standards. According to the EC, non-compliance cases have been registered in the Organic Farming Information System (OFIS).
"These notifications pertain to the contamination of a large number of consignments of products manufactured in India and certified as organic by those control bodies." The contaminations were with products and substances not permitted in organic and/or conventional production in the Union, at levels above, and frequently far above, the Maximum Residue Levels established by European Parliament Regulation," the EC stated.
Contaminations reported include ethylene oxide (ETO), which is carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reproductively toxic. However, there were other contaminations too, the EC said. These certifying agencies were unable to demonstrate that the products under their supervision were manufactured in accordance with the standards and subject to control arrangements equivalent to those established by the EC.
Furthermore, the agencies failed to take corrective action in response to the reported irregularities and violations, according to the report. Control Union Certifications, Ecocert SA, Lacon GmbH, and TQ Cert are all EU-based organizations, whereas OneCert is based in the United States.
"The EU has suspended these five companies because it believes they are not operating properly in India." It is dissatisfied with their work because they have already been barred from certifying organic commodities. They should have been more cautious and worked differently," said S Chandrasekharan, an organic export trade analyst.
The EC's action follows its December decision to decertify five certifying agencies - ECOCERT India Pvt Ltd, CU Inspections Ltd, Indian Organic Certification Agency (Indocert), Lacon Quality Certifications Pvt Ltd, and OneCert International Private Ltd - from clearing or ratifying organic product exports. They were then charged with failing to meet ethylene oxide (ETO) standards in consignments, specifically sesame (til/gingelly) imports into the European Union.
At the time, EU and US organizations in the EU were aggressively lobbying for action against APEDA. The suspended certifying agencies clear and certify a significant amount of organic products and processed food exports from India.
The presence of ETO, which the EU considers carcinogenic to humans, has harmed Indian organic exports. As a result, it is strictly monitored to ensure that any product shipped conforms to the norms. In the case of India, the presence of ETO was found to be higher than the permitted level, which the EU considered to pose a health risk to its consumers.
