In the June issue of TOS we are focussing on the work of others. Firstly, the collaborative work of CBs under the NOP and the EU to harmonise certification of grower groups, a topic that continues to need attention and which is important to the livelihoods of many small producers around the world and to the cup of coffee on your desk. Secondly, we have two interviews with important actors in the world of accreditation (IOAS on their recent venture into regenerative agriculture) and certification (Skal Biocontrole on their unique state control system for organic production and products). We also provide a short review of the Central American Regulation on organic production and its struggle to gain traction as a force for harmonisation in a world dominated by the main importing country regulations. And what on earth is EMPCo? Find out below.
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Table of Contents
GROWER GROUPS
ACA AND EOCC COLLABORATE ON GROWER GROUPS
by Cindy Elder & Anna Schaab, Accredited Certifiers Association
Certification of organic grower groups requires specialist knowledge
At the annual ACA training in 2025, several organic certification agencies in attendance identified common challenges with certifying grower groups (also known as producer groups, groups of operators). This was true especially because most certification bodies are working with both the European Commission and NOP regulations. The ACA determined that this need would be best served by creating a working group of ACA members. The purpose is to guide CBs who work with both regulations to implement the regulations more consistently and also to be able to see where the differences are to ensure that CBs working with both regulations cover all the requirements. The group decided that the most pressing issue was related to risk assessment of groups and their growers. The European Organic Certifiers Council (EOCC) later agreed to collaborate with the ACA’s working group on this issue.
ACCREDITATION
IOAS MOVES INTO REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE
TOS INTERVIEW
Lauren Carlyle, Executive Director of IOAS
IOAS announce their first accreditation with scope of Regenerative Agriculture
IOAS is well-known as a non-profit organisation providing independent accreditation and assurance services for organic and sustainability claims on an international scale. With nearly 30 years of experience, it supports certification bodies, scheme owners, and other stakeholders by assessing competence, strengthening integrity, and helping build trust in certification systems across a range of sectors. The organisation recently announced that they have granted their first accreditation to a CB with scope of regenerative agriculture. The US-based CB A Greener World extended their current ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation to include their own standard ‘Certified Regenerative by AGW’. TOS interviewed Lauren Carlyle, IOAS Executive Director, on this development.
CB FOCUS
DUTCH CONTROL SYSTEM
TOS INTERVIEW
In the Action Plan for Organic Agriculture, the Dutch government has formulated the ambition that by 2030, 15% of the agricultural area will be organically farmed; a tripling compared to now. A prerequisite for this growth is a good control system. The Dutch control system is quite unique, a reason to interview the general director of the Dutch control authority Skal Biocontrole: Nicolette Klijnhout-Klijn.
REGULATIONS
INTRODUCING ‘EMPCO’
by Nuria Alonso, Commissioning Editor, TOS
The EU aims to help consumers choose trustworthy claims
New scenario in the EU for green claims
For years, the EU has been developing legislation to protect consumers and at the same time, to improve sustainability and environmental-friendly practices of its production and commercial sectors. The EmpCo Directive (UE) 2024/825 falls within this framework; it is about ‘Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition’ and modifies the Directives 2005/29/CE and 2011/83/UE.
THE CENTRAL AMERICAN TECHNICAL REGULATION
by Gabi Soto, President, Eco-Logica
SICA works on harmonisation of regulations across Central American States
On April 25, 2019, Guatemala witnessed a historic moment when Central American countries signed their common organic production standard: the Central American Technical Regulation (RTCA) 67.06.74:16. The world looked at this small region with admiration, seeing the harmonisation process between El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Costa Rica as a significant step toward facilitating the trade of organic products. This regulation was approved by each local organic sector, the investment in the process was considerable and all six Ministers of Foreign Trade embraced the agreement. One of the goals was to achieve an equivalency agreement with the European Union and improve the trade of organic products.
However, what has happened with the RTCA for organic production in each of these countries since its signing? Has it facilitated the flow of organic products within the region? Has it been recognised by major international markets?
Unfortunately, this significant effort has not yet shown its full potential. The regulations of major markets (the United States, Europe, and Japan) remain the priority in these countries, with a strong focus on export. In Guatemala, for example, Ing. Lauro Ribera, the competent authority, informed about the predominance of international regulations on his country, even for the local market.
Nurys L. Guillén, Coordinator of the Agriculture Organic Unit in Panamá, noted that for the local market they use their national regulation (Law 8 from 2002 and the Executive Decree 121/2015). And although they signed the RTCA, it is not implemented in Panamá.
Costa Rica indicated from the outset that while it would sign the agreement, it would not implement the RTCA, as doing so could jeopardize its equivalency agreement with the European Union established in 2002. Consequently, the RTCA was never implemented in Costa Rica.
Only Honduras successfully made the RTCA mandatory for the local market, as reported by Engineer Sandra Elvir, the competent authority in Honduras. The national accreditation authority of Honduras (OHA) currently accredits the international certification bodies registered in the country for compliance with the RTCA.
An interesting aspect is that when asked about the existence of Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS), all countries that signed the agreement indicated that they do not permit PGS, as it was not included in the RTCA—except for Costa Rica, where PGS is allowed based on an additional regulation (Law 8591/2007). Thus, while compliance with the RTCA is not mandatory, it continues to define the organic sector across the region.
Complex multilateral dynamics have made it exceedingly difficult to finalise the agreement with the EU, particularly because a unified central authority capable of enforcing the regulation was not established as part of the RTCA implementation. Additionally, the level of investment in the organic sector from an administrative perspective in each of these countries was insufficient to advance the agreement further.
THE RETAILER TREATMENT LOOPHOLE
Grocery stores are exempt from mandatory NOP certification
Organic Insider reported that in the USA organic certified fruits and vegetables were sprayed at the retail facilities of the grocery chain Albertsons Safeway LLC with a synthetic pesticide — ProduceMaxx, an EPA-registered antimicrobial pesticide whose active ingredient is hypochlorous acid.
Under NOP rules, chlorine materials are permitted in organic handling, but any use in direct food contact must be followed by a potable water rinse that brings residual chlorine to or below the Safe Drinking Water Act’s limit of 4 parts per million. ProduceMaxx is sold as a 6,000ppm concentrate; even at its label-directed misting range of 30 to 60 ppm, that is roughly 8 to 15 times the organic limit — and the required rinse cannot be performed on a live retail display.
Therefore, strictly speaking this practice should cause products to lose their organic status.
However, grocery stores that do not process food but sell organic produce are generally exempt from mandatory USDA organic certification and, thus, operate in a regulatory blind spot.
Since this was considered a serious case affecting the organic integrity of the products, even if happening outside the scope of the certification, and seeing that USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) is not addressing the issue, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took enforcement into his own hands and achieved an agreement with the grocery chain to stop the use of that product in Albertsons Safeway LLC Texas stores.
Source: Organic Insider- 03.06.2026
SIGNPOST
RESOURCES, REPORTS & INITIATIVES
Useful information — from our partners, the organic community and beyond.
NOP announce launch of Common Organic System Plan templates. The NOP encourages certifiers and operations to use these templates but they are not obligatory.
The New Zealand Government has appointed an Associate Minister of Agriculture - Organics, a dedicated ministerial role for the organic sector and, a world first. No other country currently has a minister with a dedicated organic portfolio at the national government level.
25 organisations in Europe publish a Joint Statement on ‘Regenerative Greenwashing’
Free webinar available on July 15, 2026 from TUV SUD on EU Regulation – Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition.
Fair Wild publish Impact report Impact report 2026
EDITOR’S NOTE
We want to hear from you, particularly local news that might be of global interest. Tell us your successes, your problems, and your solutions? We are keen to interview people active in organic certification and beyond. We are interested in new voices, different opinions. Do you have resources to share, are you recruiting or are you staging an event or webinar training? Organic matters — share with the rest of the world here.
Commissioning Editor: Nuria Alonso
Business Manager: David Crucefix
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