ICEA Organic IT-BIO-006

Organic certification under EU Regulation 2018/848 is the official recognition that an operator complies with European standards on organic production and labeling of organic products. It is not a voluntary declaration: it is a formal act issued by an accredited inspection body, publicly verifiable in the official records of the European Commission, and subject to periodic audits that confirm or withdraw its validity.

EU Reg. 2018/848-which came into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, replacing the previous EC Reg. 834/2007 – defines the rules for the entire organic supply chain: from permitted farming practices in cultivation, to specifications for product processing and preparation, to packaging and labeling requirements. Any operator who wants to produce, process or package organic products must be certified by an authorized inspection body and comply with the requirements of its annual control plan.

EU Regulation 2018/848: what it certifies and what it excludes

Organic certification under Art. 35 of EU Reg. 2018/848 covers the activities specifically stated in the scope of the certificate. It is not an “all-inclusive” certification of the company: it certifies that the activities described – and only those – are carried out in accordance with the regulation. This means that an operator can have organic certification for a specific product line or commodity category while maintaining separate conventional lines that are outside the certified scope.

The regulation provides for the possibility of organic production in parallel with nonorganic production-as long as the two supply chains are clearly separated and traceable. This distinction is relevant for those who commission organic products from a co-packer: the operator’s certification covers the activities specified in the certificate, and public verification on TRACES makes it possible to check at any time that the certification is active and up-to-date.

The inspection body: ICEA

ICEA – Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification – is one of the authorized inspection bodies in Italy for organic certification under EU Reg. 2018/848. It operates under the identification code IT-BIO-006, assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture, and is accredited by ACCREDIA, the Italian accreditation body. The certificate issued by ICEA is publicly verifiable in the European TRACES NT registry, accessible at traces.ec.europa.eu.

ICEA is also active in vegetarian and vegan certification according to its DTR 03 specification – areas that are distinct from organic certification but often coexist in the same production chain, particularly in plant-based oriented nutraceuticals.

Purpose of certification

Certification is issued for the San Prospero (MO) Italy production unit for the following activity and product category:

Preparation of processed agricultural products, including aquaculture products, for use as food – organic production method. Products: Liquid/solid seasonings in single-serving packages (Organic).

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