Certification examples, organic

Local certification has a number of advantages, not least that it is one way to reduce costs to producers in developing countries via locally determined fees reflecting local incomes (Barrett et al., 2001). To be accepted by the European Union (EU), local certification bodies are required to demonstrate that their standards of organic production and inspection are equivalent to EU regulations. The standards need not necessarily be identical, however, and as such this means more locally appropriate standards can be set in place. For example, local certification bodies may well allow the use of such natural pesticides that would not normally be allowed under EU Standards (Myers, 2000). 

Standards provide a base for a uniform system of accepted performance such as those found in engineering practice standards, material standards, and test standards. Hydrogen standards are typically written under a consensus process by technical committees (TC) representing a cross section of interested parties and issued in the United States, for example, by organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for pressure vessels, pipelines, and piping the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) for pressure vessel operation and maintenance and the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for product certification. 

Just as organic agriculture benefits from food scandals in the conventional market, it also suffers when a scandal occurs in the organic market, for example with producers, certification offices and through accidental problems. 

---