Requesting certification in organic production

Summary

Would you like to market products as organic? 

In Wallonia, there are several preliminary steps to follow: 

1. Register your company with Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises (BCE)
2. Draw up an inspection contract with one of the inspection bodies approved for the product category concerned by your activity
3. Notify your activities in organic production to the relevant authority (SPW ARNE)
4. Comply with organic specifications (European regulations and additional regional provisions)
5. Obtain certification of your organic production from your inspection body

A MANDATORY CERTIFICATE 

In order to be able to refer to organic production methods, you must have a certificate issued by the inspection body with which you have a contract. This document certifies that your company complies with the organic regulations. 

If you are involved in primary production (agriculture or aquaculture), your products can be qualified as organic only upon the end of a conversion period for land and animals. 

The cost of this process is not fixed. It depends on the scale of your activity. 

Once you have notified the relevant authority of your organic production activities, your inspection body has 30 working days to carry out the field visit. If everything is in order, you will receive your certificate. 

Once you have received your certificate, you will be periodically checked by your inspection body. If you meet your obligations, your certificate will be renewed. 

CERTIFICATION BY TYPE OF ACTIVITY/PRODUCT CATEGORY 

Certification is specific to the types of activity and product categories involved in your organic production activity. 

For example, the certificate of a buffalo breeder who makes cheese and has a farm shop will indicate: 

• three types of activity: production, preparation and sale
• two categories of products: animals and unprocessed animal products and processed agricultural products intended for human consumption

YOUR CONTACT: YOUR APPROVED INSPECTION BODY 

In Wallonia, there are several approved organic certification bodies: 

• BE-BIO-01 Certisys 
• BE-BIO-02 TÜV NORD Integra 
• BE-BIO-03 FoodChain ID Certification 
• BE-BIO-05 Comité du Lait (animal and plant primary production and processing) 
• BE-BIO-06 CertiOne 

These bodies are your point of contact for all questions relating to organic certification. 

The Directorate for Quality and Animal Welfare (DQBEA) of the SPW Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment (ARNE) approves these inspection bodies and supervises their activities. We ensure that the regulatory framework is applied uniformly across Wallonia. 

In detail

Contacts