Mutual Recognition of Organic Food Certification Between China and New Zealand Is Moving Ahead

Under the Arrangement, organic foods exported from New Zealand to China shall meet four requirements. For example, all food additives and processing aids shall be used under "GB 2760 National Food Safety Standard — Standard for Uses of Food Additives". The release of this notice will substantially push forward the mutual recognition of organic food certification between the two countries.

On Feb. 8, 2022, Certification and Accreditation Administration of China (CNCA) released a notice (No.3/2022¹) (hereinafter “Notice”) with immediate effect, which details the implementation matters regarding the mutual recognition of organic products certification between China and New Zealand. The Notice is mainly a supplement to “Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Certified Organic Products between China National Certification and Accreditation Administration and New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industry²” (hereinafter "Arrangement") signed by the two countries in 2016.

Major Content

According to the notice, the Arrangement is applicable to all products listed in Catalogue of Organic Product Certification in China³* except for aquatic products and textiles. Moreover, processed organic products shall contain at least 95% organic ingredients produced and accredited under the New Zealand Official Organic Assurance Programme⁴ or the Chinese national standard for organic products⁵.

*Notes: The scope of organic food certification in China covers foods like cereal, vegetable, fruit, beans, nuts, oil, livestock, poultry, and derivatives thereof, etc. Read the whole Catalogue here³.

Under the Arrangement, organic foods exported from New Zealand to China shall satisfy the following conditions:

Meet requirements as per New Zealand Official Organic Assurance Programme⁴ as mentioned above.
Shall not use the prohibited substances as listed in Annex 3 of this Notice. Namely, pyrethroids cannot be used. All food additives as well as processing aids shall be used under "GB 2760 National Food Safety Standard — Standard for Uses of Food Additives"⁶.
Imported organic ingredients used in the products shall obtain organic accreditation in China with the certificate released by Chinese organic accreditation bodies.
Chinese organic certificate logo and organic code (for traceability) shall be displayed on the products. It could be operated by Chinese importers or enterprises in New Zealand. Detailed supervision measures related to this point can be found in this Notice.

Significance

At the end of 2016, New Zealand became the first in the world to sign a mutual Certified Organic Products Agreement with China. However, the mutual recognition work of organic product certification between the two countries got nowhere afterwards due to the lack of further implementation rules. Now, as the implementation rules are released, ChemLinked believes it will push forward the mutual recognition substantially, which is a piece of good news to enterprises in both countries².

For Other Countries/Regions, how to Apply for Mutual Recognition?

The competent authority in exporting countries shall submit the application to CNCA about the equivalence evaluation of the organic product recognition system.

Then CNCA will organize experts to evaluate the application (document review, onsite inspection, etc.) and sign the memorandum. (Source: CNCA⁷)

Recommended Webinar:

Organic Food Industry in China and the Market Access Requirements

For further consultation or enquiry on organic certification service, please email ChemLinked.