QAI Accredited by EU Member State Authority

Good news for one private certifier has organic manufacturers, exporters, and traders across North America hopeful that they'll soon be able to export certified organic products to Europe. Quality Assurance International (QAI), a San Diego-based private organic standards certifier, has received accreditation for its organic verification practices from Germany's Verein zur Begutachtung von Prufstellencertifier (VBP). In transmitting its certificate of approval on April 1, VBP made QAI the first and only certification organization in North America to receive such accreditation from an EU member state.

This news means QAI-certified companies and products are safely in compliance for the looming EU deadline of June 30, which mandates that importers of organic products achieve one of three accreditation options or face a stoppage into the EU. It also helps erase some of the uncertainty among organic manufacturers dependent on export to the EU market.

"This is an incredible victory for expansion of organic trade," said Joseph Smillie, QAI's senior VP. "Just weeks ago most of the organic industry was tied in knots in a race to keep a trade window pried open for organic exports to Europe. Now, an entire door has just opened wide."

QAI initiated its pursuit of option three of EU guidelines last September when it began the evaluation process with VBP. In addition to scrutinizing the company's certification documents and procedures, VBP sent an independent auditor to QAI headquarters to review client records and into the field to inspect farms and manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Mexico. The auditor then filed a report with the VBP review board, which includes a German state regulatory official and organic experts.

Because of the EU's complex process, QAI, its clients, and many European importers feared approval would drag on dangerously close to June 30 deadline. Thus, VBP's April 1 announcement came as a pleasant surprise.

"This is great news for European importers," said Wim Rabbie, president of the Dutch trading company Tradin. "We have been told by Dutch regulatory officials that if a third country certifier is approved by a member state of the EU it will be accepted in the Netherlands as well."

Smillie sees the VBP accreditation as a catalyst for greater organic commerce on several levels. "...This goes beyond the obvious advantages to QAI-certified clients. Interest among North American businesses in accessing the enormous EU market has been profound in recent years. This accreditation will enhance hundreds of companies' ability to enter the dynamic EU marketplace by eliminating the confusion and trade barriers that existed previously."