Did you know that in addition to regional staff located throughout California, CCOF has representatives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Ashville, North Carolina (2 representatives!); Bend, Oregon; and State College, Pennsylvania? These CCOF out-ofstate certification employees will be playing a new role in their local regions to learn about organic matters and represent CCOF.
In an effort to improve our materials we have revised all CCOF program and standards manuals. In particular, all clients are strongly encouraged to review the CCOF Certification Services Program Manual. This is your best resource regarding your rights and expectations and CCOF policies. This revision is intended to provide a clearer description of the certification process and costs including one time fees and other policies.
We are very pleased to announce that CCOF has significantly upgraded our phone system to better serve you. As a result, all CCOF extensions have changed to four digits. This means that when you call, you will need to listen closely to the new options.
Effective August 9, 2017, the fee for adding a new product or service will increase to $75 per item. The fee for use of CCOF’s name and seal on a non-CCOF certified private labels will increase to $350 for up to five unique products (UPCs). These fee increases more accurately reflect the necessary staffing that these additions require, and will ensure CCOF is able to meet the service expectations for clients and their private label owners/marketers.
As described in our blog post “CCOF Focused on Moving Organic Forward”, CCOF will be expanding GMO testing within the Periodic Residue Testing requirement of NOP 205.670. CCOF firmly believes that organic is non-GMO. In an effort to ensure effective measures are implemented, CCOF will be integrating GMO testing in addition to current pesticide residue testing efforts.
CCOF Certification Services has been working hard throughout 2015 to evolve our systems. We’re excited to announce the planned launch of a variety of internal system improvements and new tools for our clients during 2016. Look for more details about these various improvements in subsequent magazines and newsletters.
CCOF Certification Services is looking forward to an exciting year in 2017. It is an honor to work with so many great farmers, processors, retailers, and others. As a certification organization we are constantly trying to improve what we do and how we do it. In 2017 we hope to make important strides. Here are some highlights from our 2017 workplan:
National Organic Program (NOP) accreditation: We expect to undergo our five-year reaccreditation audit from the NOP.
Our staff are always excited to see our certified members at the various trade shows and conferences we attend each year. Meeting up at events can be a great opportunity to review concerns, ask questions, or just put faces to names.
Did you know that all certified CCOF operations remain certified until their certification is formally withdrawn, suspended, or revoked? Did you know that you can have a new copy of your certificate — effectively a federal license — at any time? It’s true. You are certified and you can have a new certificate at any time. During the recent membership survey it came to our attention that waiting for new certificates is a challenge and creates unnecessary stress for some operations.
