Methods and Tools

Most consumers usually have little opportunity to learn about certification processes. Below is an overview of the methods and 'tools' applied in process of CERT ID 'Non-GMO' certification. All CERT ID 'Non-GMO' certification Clients are subject to these methods.

Audits and Inspections

• Audit
  
  
  Standard definition of the term audit is "an examination of records to check their accuracy." This comes rather close to what is done in a CERT ID audit. The inspector visits a Client facility where he verifies whether "things" are in compliance with the respective module of the CERT ID Standard. Sometimes "things" may be the books and records of a trading company, but usually they are production or handling facilities and equipment.
• Inspections
  
  
  On their visits to Client locations CERT ID inspectors review all facilities for risks of GMO contamination. This is needed before a Certification Plan can determine how a particular Client will be certified.
• Unannounced audits
  
  
  The certification administrators decide if and when any unannounced audits should be conducted. In the end, this "surprise" tool gives consumers the assurance that a production facility does not just "groom" itself for the day an inspector has announced his visit.

Sampling


Sampling is a way of obtaining small amounts of a large product volume so that it can be tested for GMO content. It is important that such a sample is representative of the whole lot, i.e. that the test result of the sample provides a reliable statement for the entire lot it was taken from. The best GMO testing is meaningless if the sampling by which the tested product was gathered is not of highest quality.

• Sampling tools
  
  Inspection staff in charge of taking samples from vehicles, railway freight cars or vessels use special tools to gather the needed amount of product. Various probes, such as long, special "hollow pipes" are in use so that deep levels of loaded product, say, in a vessel's load, can be reached and removed.
• Sampling protocol
  
  
  Sampling methods must be appropriate to the product and the facility where the sample is taken. Since products and facilities can vary greatly, certification administrators will determine for each case the way the sampling is to be conducted.
• Sample sizes
  
  
  Accurate GMO test results also depend greatly on the size of the sample that is to be tested. This is a matter of statistics: For testing for a GMO content threshold of 0.1% in soy, the sample size submitted needs to be approximately 10,000 beans.

PCR Testing


Any kind of certification for non-GM must have at its core a reliable testing method for the presence of GMOs. It is important to note that, according to government regulations in many countries (e.g., the European Union Lisbon protocol ), both protein-based and ELISA testing methods are ruled out.

CERT ID accepts so-called strip tests as a screening method before crops are unloaded in processing plants (e.g. in the case of soybeans), but for the actual input and output tests rigid PCR testing is required.

• Certification means records
  
  
  One of the purposes of certification is to be able to demonstrate good systems and procedures in compliance with legal regulations or - in the case of CERT ID - with a certification Standard. Such records typically contain audit and inspection reports, laboratory test results, shipping documents, photographs, maps and other related documents.
• Storage of records
  
  
  While these records must be safeguarded, it would be quite cumbersome to save them all on paper in hard copy. At CERT ID, most records are recorded electronically in various file formats. This conversion is done soon after the record is received by the certification administration.
• CERT ID Database
  
  
  CERT ID has created a special database for storage of all certification records. The structure of this database enables certification administrators to relate all pertinent records to a given TCC document – and vice versa. For CERT ID industry Clients, this means that they are able to support their claim to have fully documented traceability for their certified product(s). They also meet legal traceability requirements where they exist, such as in the EU.

For CERT ID it means that it is able to provide its Clients with the complete set of records linked to their ingredients or raw material. This way, food manufacturers can stand behind the claim displayed on their packaging through the CERT ID Seal.



FAQs for Consumers