WHAT WE CERTIFY
Food and drink products – from manufacture to packaging
House products
Food supplements and medicines
Pet food products
Clothing and footwear products
Food industry sector - HORECA (hotel, restaurant, café, etc.);
Fresh food products – namely fruit and vegetables
Salt
Water
REGULATORY REFERENCES
Following systems are the basis of the Certify Plant Base system and relevant for Certification application:
– EN ISO 17065:2012 Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services
– Vegan Standard 2019 based on the Position Paper published in 2017 by the Working Vegan Group of the non-governmental organization SAFE (Safe Food Advocacy Europe) – “Suitable for Vegans”: The European Standard on Voluntary Labelling of Foods
-REGULATION (EU) N. 1169/2011 of 25 October 2011
on the provision of food information to consumers
In addition to the mentioned documents above, the relevant decisions and regulations of the European Commission concerning both food in general and specifically the labeling of vegan or Plant Based products are also taken into account.
CERTIFICATION PROCESS
After choosing to adopt a Plant Based management system, the interested businesses that approach Certifybio can have access to this Regulation and start the Certification Process. Certify Plant Based will evaluate the conformities and nonconformities of the systems, expecting its consistent compliance with the Certification Requirements established by the Regulation
The Certification Process includes the following steps:
ABOUT US
The implementation of a Plant Based management system (PB MS) is a strategic approach to the market that differentiates the products certified and contributes to improve the transparency and trust between businesses and its clients.
In the short and medium term, some of the potential benefits of adopting the following Regulation are:
APPLICATION
Step 1 High Quality
In the case of the category Clothing — Footwear the form may not be applicable and you should contact Certify Plant Based for an additional Application form
Step 2 Good Support
Payment will only proceed and the submission accepted for review upon acceptance of the Terms and Conditions of the system.
Step 3 Individual Approach
After submitting the application for the Plant Based certification, a review of the submitted Application will proceed and information regarding the application to compliance of the list of ingredients of the products to be certified.
If the Application Form is incomplete to the extent that the integration process is affected, additional information will be requested.
In case the initial requirements for the certification of an intended product are not fulfilled (e.g. ingredients of animal origin), the product will be excluded.
For applications whose certification is rejected, a written justification will be sent to the applicant, explaining the reasons for rejection of integration in the certification system.
Consequently, the inspectors from the Certification Department are informed and the new business will be integrated in the Certification System Database.
Step 4 INQUIRY
Step 5 | Inquiry Review
Step 6 CERTIFICATE ISSUANCE
When the Compliance Decision is positive, a Certificate of Conformity is issued. The Certificate granted by Certify Plant Based ensures that the client effectively follows the principles and requirements of the current Regulation, confirming the authenticity of the products. The Certificate concerns exclusively the business to whom it was granted and only the products it covers.
The Certificate allows the client to use the specific Certification Mark of the category to which it was certified, under the conditions of the Regulation for use of logo and certificate .
The Certificate is valid for a maximum period of 12 months - can be shorter depending on the product/service.
Step 7 RENEWAL
The maintenance of the Certification presupposes continuous compliance by the client with the general and specific requirements of the Regulation.
REQUIRMENTS
SPECIFIC OBLIGATIONS FOR A PLANT BASED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The approved products or ingredients of a Plant Based Management System shall align with the following requirements
— animal origin products;
— milk or dairy products or colostrum;
— eggs or egg products obtained from living animals;
— honey or bee products (e.g. beeswax, propolis);
— products derived from the wool of living animals (e.g. lanolin)
Involuntary cross contamination with products that do not comply with clause 1 can be admitted and is compatible with the Plant Based labelling of the product (unintentional presence of non-vegan substances should not be an obstacle to labeling a product as Plant Based – “trace” is not an ingredient).
PRICING
Products with any amount of animal-derived ingredients are not eligible for Certification to the Plant Based system. Products classified as “single-ingredient raw foods,” such as fruits and vegetables, are also not eligible.
Certified Plant Based products are all independently verified by and must pass its review before the label can be used.
Initial application fees are 85 euros per product and each product is considers as induvial. If companies are offering private branding for the same product, please contact us for more information on the pricing applied
Yearly renewal fees of 50 euros per product is applicable.
Incase of change of ingredients during the certification period, a fee of 25 euros will apply for revaluation as long as the changes are less than 2 ingredients.