Input Certification
As a certified input, you are not an organic product. Instead your product will be certified for use in certified organic production. This includes products such as fertilisers, animal treatments, pest and disease management and plant nutrition products.
Certification is a simple 4-step process
Simple, right? Below we explain how your organic journey would look from start to finish.
Expression of Interest
Tell us you're interested in inputs for organics certification.
We are available for contact on weekdays between 9-5, with a whole team eager to help you. The quickest route for contact is to register your interest.
Alternatively, you can email us using info[at]biogro.co.nz or call us on 04-801 9741.
Organic Certification Webinar
If you or your business are new to organics, our Organic Certification Webinars are a great opportunity to learn more about the certification process, hosted by experts from the BioGro team.
If this sounds like something that you could benefit from, be sure to sign up - so, what are you waiting for?
Pre-Assessment
This is your stepping stone to the initial assessment, which involves checking that you would be compliant for certification before you go through the more rigorous processes. This is steps one and two of the 4-step submittal process.
During this assessment, BioGro will require a breakdown of your formulations and the percentages of your ingredients. We will be analysing all facets of the product including all ingredients, additives and processing aids and manufacturing procedures.
Cost
The pre-assessment fee is from $610 plus GST + assessment time fees. This process takes a minimum of two hours per product.
If your product is compliant and you decide to certify with BioGro within 2 months, we will subtract $250 from the certification fee.
Timeframe
This is all dependent on the complexity of your product, as well as the quantity and quality of information provided. We advise between 6-8 weeks but please let us know if you have timeframes in mind and we will do our best to accommodate.
What we will ask for
For each non-organic ingredient;
A specification sheet outlining the full composition of the ingredient
A GMO declaration
A list of importers, suppliers and manufacturers
A detailed description of the manufacturing process
A copy of the product label(s)
For each organic ingredient;
Valid organic certificates
Market compliance
During the assessment, we will assess your product for compliance with all relevant organic markets that affect organic growers in New Zealand, including;
BioGro Organic Standards (NZ)
IFOAM Norms
MPI-OOAP Technical Rules (EU, Taiwan)
USDA-National Organic Programme (USA)
Japan Agricultural Standard - JAS (Japan)
Canada Organic Regime - COR (Canada)
Initial Assessment
If the results of your pre-assessment are compliant, and you are still interested in certification, this is the phase where you fully commit to your organic journey. This is steps three and four of the 4-step submittal process.
We will ask you to complete and send a short Application Form, we will invoice you on receipt of your application.
BioGro will set you up with your own personal log-in. Once we get you online, we will ask you to fill out the online forms.
Once the certification fee has been paid, BioGro will assess your application.
Whilst assessing your application, BioGro will arrange for an auditor to visit your operation to carry out an on-site inspection.
Following a satisfactory audit report, we issue you with certification and supply you with our highly recognised logo. We then require a copy of the product label(s) for us to assess and approve before you go to print.
Cost
The annual cost of certification is $2036 plus ingredient fees, auditor fees and G.S.T (auditor fee calculated on region). Please be aware that there are also small ongoing approval charges. Once you have submitted your application, we will give you a personalised quote.
Timeframe
This is dependent on a variety of factors that include supplying the correct documentation and auditor availability. At a minimum, it will take 40 working days.
What we will ask for
It is crucial that you send us all necessary documentation, and ensure that all online forms are filled out carefully and correctly. We will give you guidance during this stage.
Find out how organic certification has been a great component of Grochem's success over the past 17 years.