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Placement of
“Certified Organic By…” Statement
Per the NOP regulations, OEFFA organic certified packaged/
labeled retail products must include the statement, “Certified
Organic by OEFFA” placed directly below the information
identifying the producer, handler, or distributor of the product.
As there was some confusion within the certified organic
community regarding this issue, the NOP has granted a
transition period to alter packaging.
All existing product labels must comply with all the NOP labeling
requirements, except for the “Certified Organic By OEFFA” statement
placement rule. However, by January 1, 2016, these labels must be fixed.
All new or revised product labels must meet all the NOP labeling
requirements, including the “Certified Organic by OEFFA” statement
placement rule.
If your labels do not meet this requirement, you will be notified by OEFFA
and need to take action to come into compliance with this requirement.
***************************************************************************************************************************** New Free Fact Sheets!
OEFFA has published several new fact sheets that may have beneficial information for your operation. These, along with our other fact
sheets, can be found on OEFFA’s website under the Guidance web page or sent to you upon request. The new fact sheets are:
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Organic Insider
Become an Organic Insider to receive national organic news
directly from the NOP as soon as it happens. This is a great
resource for the most up to date changes and informative fact
sheets. To receive the organic insider, sign up at
http://bit.ly/NOPOrganicInsider.
Supporting a sustainable food system that provides prosperity and health
July 2014
OEFFA Certification Bulletin
How to Contact Us
Phone: (614) 262-2022
Fax: (614) 421-2011
Carol Goland
Executive Director
Extension 202 [email protected]
Laura Anglim
Certification Specialist
Extension 227 [email protected]
Julia Barton
Program Associate
Extension 220 [email protected]
Steve Cabral
Certification Specialist
Extension 222 [email protected]
Elise George
Processing Certification Specialist
Extension 221 [email protected]
Kelly Henderson
Certification Specialist
Extension 230 [email protected]
Andy Hupp
Certification Operations Coordinator
Extension 225 [email protected]
Michelle Kozlowski
Certification Specialist
Extension 231 [email protected]
Kelly Lewis
Program Assistant
Extension 228 [email protected]
Kate (Schmidt) Blake
Compliance and Quality Assurance Coordinator
Extension 223 [email protected]
Rose Smith
Certification Specialist
Extension 224 [email protected]
Samira Zoofan
Program Assistant
Extension 226 [email protected]
Eric Pawlowski – OEFFA Education Program
Sustainable Agriculture Educator
(614) 421 – 2022 Extension 209 [email protected]
Happy Summer Organic Producers and Processors!
We hope you’ve been able to enjoy this beautiful summer! We know this is a busy time of
year for you, as it is for us, and we appreciate your ongoing patience as we continue to
make the certification process sound and sensible. This bulletin contains updates about
exciting changes taking place at OEFFA, information regarding organic certification, and
resources to help support the important work you do.
Please contact us with questions, suggestions, and concerns at any time. We hope you
continue to enjoy these long summer days.
Sincerely,
The OEFFA Certification Team
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Final 2014 Producer Application Deadline: September 15th
Thank you to all producers who have submitted their annual certification applications for
2014. If you have yet to do so, this is a reminder that the final deadline to send in your
fees and paperwork is September 15th! After this date has passed, if we have not
received an application from you, or if you have not notified us that you no longer wish to
be certified with OEFFA, we are required by the NOP to send you an official Notice of
Noncompliance. If you have submitted your paperwork and have not yet heard from an
inspector, we are still in the process of reviewing your application for completeness and
compliance with the NOP standards. As always, we thank you for your patience
throughout this process. As long you continue to follow the standards and submit your
renewal application on an annual basis, your certification
remains valid.
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Organic Cost-Share Reimbursements Now Available!
The Organic Cost-Share program, which reimburses certified organic producers and
handlers for the expense of certification, is now up and running again. You can be repaid
75% of your annual certification fees (up to $750 per scope certified) for the certification
fees you paid for between October 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014.
If you are located in Ohio, we have enclosed your application form with this bulletin.
Please complete and return to OEFFA along with the requested other documents. You
can expect to receive your reimbursement within 10 weeks.
If you are not in Ohio, please refer to the enclosed list of cost-share program
contacts for each state.
OEFFA Certification Bulletin July 2014
Facility Pest Management Labeling of Organic Products
Non-Organic Ingredient Compliance Affidavit Organic Ingredient Search Record
Attention Handlers:
For efficiency purposes, we have created the Certificate Addition Request Form, to replace the
Additional Processed Product/Production Line Affidavit. Please be aware that the “Certification
Additions” policy on page 19 of OEFFA’s Policies & Procedures mentions the Additional
Processed Product/Production Line Affidavit. This is no longer the name of the form.
We have also created two new documents that may be applicable to your operation:
You can find these new form on our website under the Guidance web page. We are happy to
send these documents at your request. Please email or call us: [email protected] or
(614) 262—2022.
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NOP’s Online “List of Certified Operations”
You can access certification information for operations certified to the NOP standards
as of January 2, 2014 by visiting the following website: http://apps.ams.usda.gov/nop/.
This database also allows you to make sure a potential supplier’s certification has not
been suspended or revoked.
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Transaction Certificates
While OEFFA is happy to provide the service of issuing
Transaction Certificates (TCs), in order to cover administrative
costs and serve our clients fairly, we’ve changed our policy
regarding Transaction Certificate Applications (TCAs). As
follows:
In order to receive a TC, the seller must complete and
submit the application with the appropriate fees ($25.00 per
TCA). Applications can be found on OEFFA’s website or sent
upon request. Please consult the TC Instructions prior to filling
out your TCA. Once a TC is issued, it will be mailed to both the
buyer and seller. If you have a question on obtaining a TC,
please call or email Samira Zoofan at (614) 262-2022 Ext. 226 or
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OEFFA Certification Bulletin July 2014 July 2014
Changes at OEFFA Certification
The past several months have been a time of transition at OEFFA Certification. Some of our staff have taken on new roles, others have
moved on to new places, and new faces have joined the team. Lisa Large left the staff this spring, but will continue working as a contract
inspector. Many thanks to Lisa as she continues to bring positive energy to the OEFFA community! In June, Kelly Lewis became OEFFA’s
newest Program Assistant, as Jack Monsted moved east to pursue a new adventure. In the past, Kelly helped OEFFA Education at the annual
conference through her OEFFA internship. Additionally, we are happy to welcome Michelle Kozlowski, a recent graduate of a master’s
program at Ohio University, to the OEFFA family as a Certification Specialist. Our Compliance and Quality Assurance Coordinator married
in June and has changed her name from Kate Schmidt to Kate Blake. Julia Barton has transitioned to a new role as Program Associate and
Kate has taken her place as Interim Program Manager.
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REMINDER: You may be selected for Unannounced
Pesticide Residue and Integrity Inspections!
Per the NOP standards, OEFFA is required to annually conduct
random, unannounced integrity inspections [NOP §205.403(a)(2)(iii)]
and residue sampling inspections [NOP §205.670(d)]. NOP guidance
suggests that 5% of our clients undergo an unannounced inspection and
requires us to collect samples for residue testing from at least 5% of our
clients. Based on our total number of clients for the 2013 certification
year, we will collect samples from and conduct integrity inspecting on
about 39 operations in 2014. We will give a maximum notice of 4 hours
for these visits.
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Thank you Winter and Spring Interns! Welcome Summer Interns!
Many thanks go out to our winter and spring interns, Marina Zahran
and our returning intern Kayla Smith. While we are sad to see Kayla
and Marina go, OEFFA is happy to welcome new summer interns, Kate
Meizlish and Bronya Petrov, both students at The Ohio State
University. If you are interested in becoming an OEFFA Certification
intern, please submit a cover letter and resumé (including 2 references)
to Kate Blake at [email protected].
New and Improved Certification Web Pages
We are thrilled to announce we have given the certification web page
a well deserved makeover! “Certification” now appears on the main
menu bar on OEFFA’s website: http://www.oeffa.org.
Within the certification sub-menu, please note the addition of a
Guidance page, where you can find all of our fact sheets and audit
trail documents. Additionally, for general links and resources related
to certified organic production, we encourage both producers and
processes to use the Growers Resource page on the left hand vertical
menu.
If you have feedback you’d like to share with us about the website,
please contact Samira Zoofan at (614) 262-2022 Ext. 226 or
Updated Approved Product List!
To make it easier to use, the newest version of OEFFA’s Approved
Product List is categorized alphabetically by Manufacturer Name. This
change means that all the products by one manufacturer will be listed
together.
OEFFA’s Upcoming NOP Audit
Just as you are inspected to have your organic certification renewed, OEFFA is audited by the NOP
on a regular basis. An auditor is coming to visit the OEFFA office the 2nd week of August. The
auditor will verify that we are conducting organic certification activities according to the NOP
standards, review our recordkeeping systems, check that we’ve addressed noncompliances we’ve
received in the past, conduct staff interviews, follow one of our contract inspectors on a farm
inspection, and perform their own on-site review of a certified handling operation. The integrity of
our program is only as strong as the integrity of the work you do on your operations to uphold the
NOP standards. We thank you for your diligence and dedication
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OSP Changes in 2015
OEFFA is working to reduce paperwork as part of NOP's Sound
& Sensible initiative. After completing a full OSP in 2015,
renewing operators will complete a much shorter form in
subsequent years. If nothing has changed, you're done! If you
have made changes, you will only need to send us revised sections
of the OSP, and we will integrate updated sections with your
current file. The new "Modular" OSPs will result in a substantial
reduction in paperwork, so you can spend more time on your
operation and less time renewing your certification.
Look for more information about these changes with your 2015
application materials.
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New OEFFA Certificate Format
Portrait orientation
May be more than one page
Products are listed in table format
International Equivalencies are listed, as appropriate
There is a limit of five transactions per application to
one buyer.
TCs are only issued on loads shipped 1 month prior to
the application.
This year you will likely notice our certificates look different. We made
the following changes, to make our certificate more user-friendly:
International Equivalencies will be marked for the relevant products if
verification is requested within an Organic System Plan and is then
verified by an inspector. If you want International Equivalencies listed
and you did not mark this on your OSP, please contact us at
(614) 262-2022 or [email protected].
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