What the Organic Product Certificate Is

The organic product certificate is an audit-and-certification form of production adapted to the environment. Built on the efficient use of farm and local resources, it relies on a self-sufficient closed system in which the finished product is audited at every production stage rather than only at the end. Contracted growers commit in signed agreements not to use synthetic chemical pesticides, hormones, or fertilisers in their fields or orchards. Organic products made in line with these conditions are then certified by international, impartial inspection bodies authorised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which issue the organic product certificate evidencing that the products have been produced under organic control.

Sistem Patent Kalite, as a certification body, performs audit and certification in line with the authorisation principles set out in the Organic Agriculture Law and the related regulation. The law and regulation also specify who can act as an inspection body and the requirements they must meet. Organic product certificates evidence that the necessary conditions have been met from soil analyses of the production land through harvest, processing, packaging, and storage. The certification system has 3 layers: producers, sellers, and independent certification bodies.

In the domestic market, organic products sold in supermarkets, retailers, and hypermarkets must carry the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs logo and the inspection and certification body's logo on the packaging, along with a written statement on the packaging indicating that the product has been audited and certified. Products sold in this form have been audited and certified as organic.