The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has prepared guidance for accredited CBs to help facilitate the issuance of the newly implemented USDA NOP import certificate for exports of Canada Organic Regime certified organic products to the United States (U.S.).
Certification requirements for a Canada-based operator acting as the importer of record for shipments to the U.S.
Canada-based operators acting as the U.S. importer of record of organic products into the U.S. must be certified under the USDA organic regulations by a USDA-accredited certification body, regardless of any other certifications held.
The U.S. importer of record is defined by U.S. law as the owner or purchaser of the goods, or when designated by the owner, purchaser, or consignee, a licensed Customs broker.
Products being imported to the U.S. must be certified to the USDA organic regulations by a USDA-accredited certifier or be certified under an equivalence arrangement that the USDA has established with another country (for example Canada Organic Regime (COR), Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS), European Union (EU)).
Exporting and importing scenarios can be complex, with supply chain actors engaging in activities in multiple countries and under various organic certification schemes. Depending on an operation's activities, they may need to hold more than one certification to effectively manage risk and comply with the requirements of the different schemes in which they do business.
CFIA has similar requirements for the activity of importing into Canada in order to protect its market.
Importers in Canada that import organic products (Canada Organic Regime and /or certified under equivalency arrangements) that are to be stored, further packaged and/or labelled in Canada are required to be certified under the Canada Organic Regime. If these importers also act as exporter of organic products under the US-Canada Organic Equivalence Arrangement, they are required to have COR certification.
If a Canada-based importer is bringing organic product (that is only certified to USDA NOP) into Canada, but directly trans-shipping through Canada to the United States, this activity does not fall under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations and the importer will need to be USDA NOP certified.
Clarification on terms used in the USDA NOP import certificate
On the NOP import certificate, the definition of "Recipient in the U.S." (Box no 7) is the individual or business that will receive or file entry of the product in the U.S. (for example the importer of record). Box no 2 and no 7 are linked. If the importer of record is located outside of the U.S. box no 2 will auto populate and show the foreign importer's address, which may not be the product destination.
NOP is working on changes to the import certificate "tool tips" and the title for Box no 7 in the coming months. NOP's April 30 release of the USDA NOP Organic Integrity Database (OID) and the NOP import certificate changed the "tool tip" for Box no 7 to clarify the meaning of "Recipient":
This is the organic importer, defined as the individual or business receiving or filing the entry of the product into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection import system of record. The importer may or may not take physical possession of the product and may differ from the ultimate consignee of the product. Operations with non-U.S. addresses may act as the organic importer.
A separate Organic Integrity Database (OID) release scheduled for early/mid-June will include changing the Box no 7 title from "Recipient" to "Importer".
Clarification regarding who is considered the "final handler" under the USDA NOP definition
The final handler is the last handler in the chain that is required to be certified (aside from the exporter) by the NOP/COR requirements. The final handler in Canada is the final operation in the chain that is required to be certified by COR, which is the owner of the products.
For example: If a seed cleaner in Canada (holder of an Attestation of Compliance but not an organic product certificate) is exporting the product that they cleaned to the US, are they the final handler? It was confirmed by the NOP that it depends on ownership. If the seed cleaner is a contracted service provider they are not the owner of the product (responsible party) and would not be identified as such in a trace back audit. The organic product certificate holder for the product in its final exported state is the final handler in this case.
Clarification of level of verification expected by the CFIA accredited CBs
CFIA accredited CBs should all have systems in place to verify the authenticity of products and approximate product quantities that are sold/distributed/shipped from certified handlers. This can be based on a few years of inspections and traceability exercises but certifiers should verify that the numbers and product types make sense for the exporter requesting the NOP import certificate. If there are concerns about quantities, the certifier can inquire with the exporter for justification. Certifiers electronically complete the NOP import certificate in the OID, using information provided by exporters to the U.S.
The purpose of the form is to provide information that enables certifiers and the NOP to effectively trace imports back to exporters, to help support cross-border connections – and be able to more quickly and effectively follow up along supply chains to verify the integrity of organic shipments. As such, certifiers determine what verification they need from the exporters to best support that traceability.
Clarification on how to issue an NOP import certificate with period based for multiple consignments and how to add consignments information for each shipment after issuing NOP import certificate
This is covered under the "Tip Sheet" in "User Resources on in Global Organic Integrity: "How to Edit Import Certificates", and in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document on the Strengthening Organic Enforcement webpage (see question no 19).
Limited fields can be edited once NOP import certificates are issued, and those fields include the estimated total net weight, estimated total number of containers, and shipping identification like container number and lot numbers.
Clarification on whether the USDA NOP import certificate should be issued based on the product label or the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code
One NOP import certificate must be issued for each HTS code. As long as the products are classified under the same HTS code, you can issue one NOP import certificate for products under that HTS code. In Box 11, "Product as Labelled," you can list out every specific product covered by the one HTS code/ NOP import certificate, separating them with commas. Alternatively, you may enter the generic name of the product, for example, "red wine".
NOP's April 30 release of the OID and the NOP import certificate also revised the "Tool Tip" for Box no 11 "Product as Labelled" to reduce confusion on this point. The revised tip instructs certifiers to "enter the name of the product(s) classified under the HTS code covered by this import certificate."
Minor inaccuracies on the NOP import certificate are not likely to disrupt or stop shipments. Customs brokers will use the 21-digit NOP import certificate number to file in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection system; however, they will enter the complete/updated shipment details at the time of filing (including lot numbers, seal number). NOP will see this information on the back end and can follow up with CFIA/certification bodies regarding any issues or discrepancies.
Clarification requirements for distributors to be certified under the USDA NOP
Distribution centers that conduct handling activities such as combining, treating, packing, repackaging, and labelling of NOP organic products must be certified.
Distribution centers that conduct limited handling activities like receiving, storing and/or preparing for shipping organic products that are received in, and remain in, sealed, tamper-evident packaging may be exempt from certification.
The same requirements apply to certification of organic products under the COR.
There are many benefits of organic certification in terms of risk management. Certification provides more options for businesses that unexpectedly need to conduct unplanned handling activities, like splitting loads or storing unpackaged organic products. Products handled by uncertified operations lose their organic status and cannot be sold, labelled, or otherwise represented as organic in the U.S.
Clarification on whether it is preferable to issue USDA NOP import certificate by time period or transaction
Either is fine. In some circumstances it may be easier for trade with a time period import certificate to cover a full growing season (for example 3 months).
If the total estimate of weight leads to, for example, 14 shipments and it does not end up being 14 shipments at the end of the time period, NOP does not require the CB to go in and update the certificate at the end. This is because NOP will have the records for all of the imports tied to that import certificate.