Risk assessment in organic quality assurance

Recent developments in organic inspection and certification focus on the development of a risk-oriented approach, in addition to the annual inspection visit. When inspecting the operators, the amount of time spent must be flexible and should be more orientated to goals and risks. Sanctions must be effective and strongly discourage violations. 

In order to identify the critical points during the process, every stage of the process must be analysed. The precautionary measures at the critical points must be designed in such a way that they ensure that the organic integrity is subjected to the least possible risk during the production process. 

In the case of parallel production in processing operations, the precautionary measure may be an adequate cleansing process that has been demonstrated to be effective. In the case of the importers, a measure to be taken may be the introduction of an internal plan to take samples to be tested for possible traces of pesticides. 

During the inspection, the inspector should proceed with particular emphasis on the critical points. This system guarantees that the internal quality assurance is oriented to the risks associated with the particular type of production. It is a preventive approach. The employees who identify with the organic objective , who are involved in the process and assume responsibility for it, are more careful, because they understand the sense of quality assurance and do not feel that it is an additional burden, impractical, bothersome, a mere formality and bureaucratic. 

Irregularities that can compromise the integrity of organic products can occur at any step in the chain, from farm production to sale to the final consumer. The risk of irregularities increases with  

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