Organic products: Recognition of control bodies

Fifth amendment: Commission Implementing Regulation 2025/882

Fourth, third, second, and first amendments: Commission Implementing Regulations 2024/3121, 2024/2794, 2024/2140, 2024/1748 amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1378 as regards the recognition of certain control bodies in accordance with Article 46 of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council as competent to carry out controls and issue organic certificates in third countries for the purpose of imports of organic products into the Union

Update

Under the new organic regime of the European Union (EU), from 1 January 2025 control authorities and control bodies must be listed under Regulation 2021/1378 as officially approved (recognised) to conduct controls and certification of organic products in non-EU countries.

In May 2025, the EU added the following three control bodies to the list of approved control authorities/control bodies (Regulation 2025/882):

• Bio Latina Certificadora
• Primus Auditing Operations Mexico
• PT BIOCert Indonesia.

This Regulation also removes Balkan Biocert Macedonia DOOEL Skopje from that list and, for certain control bodies, extends the products they can certify in the countries where they are permitted to operate.

In total, 52 control authorities/control bodies are currently listed. Detailed steps to access an updated list of these bodies are provided in the Recommended Actions below.

Impacted Products

Organic products

What is changing?

To certify organic products for export, control authorities and control bodies in non-EU countries must be approved (recognised) by the EU as being able to carry out the necessary controls to certify that products comply with EU organic production rules.

The EU maintains a list of approved control authorities and control bodies which is regularly updated to include new authorities/bodies that have demonstrated their competence to carry out controls.

The recognised bodies are listed under Implementing Regulation 2021/1378.

The list has been updated five times.

First amendment

In June 2024, Regulation 2024/1748 listed the following 17 control authorities or control bodies:

• bio.inspecta AG
• Caucascert LLC
• CCPB Srl
• CERES Certification of Environmental Standards GmbH
• CERTIMEX, Certificadora Mexicana de Productos y Procesos Ecologicos S.C.
• Control Union Certifications B.V.
• Ecocert SAS
• ECOGLOBE LLC
• FOOD SAFETY S.A.
• IMO Control Private Limited
• Kiwa BCS Öko-Garantie GmbH
• Mayacert S.A.
• Organic Control System LLC Subotica
• Organic Standard LLC
• Servicio de Certificación CAAE S.L.U.
• Southern Cross Certified Australia Pty Ltd
• Tse-Xin Organic Certification Corporation.

Second amendment

In August 2024, an additional 15 control authorities or control bodies were listed under Regulation (EU) 2024/2140:

• A CERT European Organization for Certification S.A.
• ACT Organic Company Limited
• Agricert – Certificação de Produtos Alimentares Lda
• Balkan Biocert Macedonia DOOEL Skopje (removed from the list in May 2025)
• Beijing Continental Hengtong Certification Co. Ltd
• CERTIFICADORA BIOTROPICO S.A.S.
• COMPANY OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN PALESTINE
• Ecovivendi d.o.o. Belgrade
• ETKO EKOLOJİK TARIM KONTROL ORGANİZASYONU LİMİTED ŞİRKETİ
• IBD Certificações Ltda
• LACON QUALITY CERTIFICATION PRIVATE LIMITED
• Metrocert S.C.
• Oregon Tilth Inc
• Organizacion Internacional Agropecuaria S.A.
• Organska Kontrola d.o.o. Sarajevo

Third amendment

In November 2024, an additional 12 control authorities and control bodies were listed under Regulation 2024/2794:

• ACO CERTIFICATION LIMITED
• CTR ULUSLARARASI BELGELENDIRME VE DENETIM LTD. ŞTİ.
• DQS POLSKA SPÓŁKA Z OGRANICZONĄ ODPOWIEDZIALNOŚCIĄ
• Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers, Inc. (FOG), DBA as Quality Certification Services (QCS)
• IMOCERT Latinoamérica Ltda.
• INDOCERT
• ONECERT INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE LIMITED
• Organic Crop Improvement Association International Inc
• Organic Food Development and Certification Center of China
• Organización Internacional Agropecuaria S.A
• ORSER KONTROL VE SERTIFIKASYON ANONIM IIRKETI
• SRS Certification GmbH

The Regulation also amends the categories of products and specific non-EU countries that the listed control body Ecocert SAS may control.

Fourth amendment

In December 2024, an additional six control authorities and control bodies were listed under Regulation 2024/3121:

• Başak Ekolojik Ürünler Kontrol ve Sertifikasyon Hizmetleri Ticaret Limited Şirketi
• Bioagricert s.r.l. Unipersonale
• DQS POLSKA SPÓŁKA Z OGRANICZONĄ ODPOWIEDZIALNOŚCIĄ
• GCL International Ltd
• Japan Organic and Natural Foods Association
• Sertifikācijas un testēšanas centrs.

Fifth amendment

In May 2025, an additional three control bodies were listed under Regulation 2025/882:

• Bio Latina Certificadora
• Primus Auditing Operations Mexico
• PT BIOCert Indonesia.

In addition, this new Regulation extends the recognition of the following bodies, allowing them to certify additional product categories and/or operate in additional countries:

• ACO Certification Limited
• ACT Organic Company Limited
• CCPB Srl, Ecocert SAS
• Mayacert S.A.
• OneCert International Private Limited.

It also removes Balkan Biocert Macedonia DOOEL Skopje from the list, at the request of the company.

Details on the category of products that each control authority or control body may control, and the non-EU countries where they may carry out controls, are given in the Annexes of the Regulations.

Why?

From 1 January 2025, only control authorities and control bodies that are officially recognised by the EU to conduct compliance audits will be able to issue organic certificates in non-EU countries.

To be recognised by the EU, control authorities and control bodies must submit a request for recognition under Art. 46 of Regulation 2018/848, and must meet the required conditions.

Timeline

The three most recently approved control bodies under Regulation 2025/882 are recognised from 18 May 2025.

Recommended Actions

It is critically important for organic food operators in non-EU countries to monitor the recognition process, and to liaise closely with their control authorities and control bodies.

The EU regularly produces consolidated versions of the list of control authorities and control bodies. For the latest available version, visit Regulation 2021/1378 and click on “Current consolidated version”. Operators must ensure they use the most up-to-date version.

Background

The EU Organic Regulation 2018/848 brought in a fundamental change from an equivalence regime to a compliance regime, with a 3-year transition period after it was applied on 1 January 2022 (see New EU Organic Regulation explained). Under this Regulation, control authorities and control bodies in non-EU countries must be approved (recognised) by the EU as being able to carry out the necessary controls to certify that products comply with EU organic production rules.

The EU Organic Regulation is the basic Act that lays down the EU rules on organic production and labelling of organic products. It revises and strengthens the controls system, trade regime, and production rules that had been in place since 2007. It brought in a fundamental change to the regulatory approach, moving from the principle of equivalence to the principle of compliance. The earlier Regulation (EC) 834/2007 recognised that organic goods could be produced in ways that were different, but equivalent in terms of their outcome and alignment with organic principles. Under the new Organic Regulation, this changes to a system of compliance: producers in non-EU countries that do not have equivalence recognised in a trade agreement with the EU, or are not recognised as an equivalent country under Regulation 834/2007, will have to conform with exactly the same set of rules as those in the EU. For further information see New EU Organic Regulation explained.

Resources

Sources