The IOAS (formerly, International Organic Accreditation Service) has withdrawn Biocert International's IFOAM and ISO/IEC 17065 accreditations and the recommendation for accreditations for COR (Canada Organic Regime) and European Union accreditation.
- This follows Biocert International's "failure" to comply with previous sanctions, to take the specified required actions and to resolve non-conformities. Following the end of the right to appeal notice, this withdrawal has now been enacted.
- The decision, announced on 10 October, was taken earlier on 23 September.
- Biocert International is based in Indore, Madhya Pradesh state, India.
- The Biocert website was offline at the time of this update, with the announcement: "Stay Tuned !!! We Are Updating Our Website". An earlier version of the website can be seen on Wayback Machine.
The withdrawal: The IOAS, on 31 May this year, had suspended Biocert’s international IFOAM and ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation and also the recommendation for accreditation for COR and EU accreditations.
- Biocert International was invited to take corrective actions to enable the suspensions to be lifted.
- While the suspension was in effect, Biocert was not permitted to accept new applications or extend the scope of certificates, and was also required to maintain surveillance on existing certificate holders.
- Any operations, certification bodies and authorities that relied on this accreditation were asked by the IOAS to take note.
- Earlier, on 29 January 2021, India's Vedic Organic Certification Agency (VOCA) voluntarily withdrew from accreditation and assessment for accreditation under the ISO/IEC17065 and EU schemes. This had followed the 13 November 2020 decision of the IOAS to suspend accreditation and recommendation for accreditation under the ISO/IEC17065 and EU schemes.
