bio.inspecta AG: the company

All from one source

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All from one source

Who makes sure that you what you see is what you get when it comes to organic labels and prod-ucts? The certification body bio. inspecta AG is responsible for the certification of the majori-ty of Swiss organic production in the farming, processing and marketing sectors. The organic trade in Switzerland is showing strong growth and demand for organic suppliers is growing accordingly, especially in the farming sector. A simple and non-binding Organic Farm Assess-ment can quickly show how “fit” one’s holding is for organic conversion.

Organic products must indicate the competent certifi-cation body on packaging and labels. Organic products certified by bio.inspecta AG display the official code “Organic certification: CH-BIO-006”. bio.inspecta AG guarantees organic quality in close cooperation with its partners in the worldwide certification network and in coordination with the implementing authorities and the various label holders. The authorities for their part monitor the certification bodies using internation-al standard procedures (accreditation) and thus assure proper and independent procedures.

Roots in the organic movementbio.inspecta AG is headquartered in Frick, Switzerland, in the immediate neighbourhood of the Research Insti-tute of Organic Agriculture (Forschungsinstitut für bio-logischen Landbau, FiBL) and thus in close proximity to practice-oriented research projects furthering organic quality standards. Many years of cooperation with Bio Suisse have similarly consolidated relationships with that organization and the associated certification under its widely known Bud label.

Moreover, bio.inspecta AG offers certification under a range of other organic standards such as, for example, Demeter or Delinat, non-organic standards such as “Hochstamm Suisse”, “alpinavera”, “Suisse Garantie” and other regional standards as well as several retailers’ standards such as “Migros Bio” or “Bio Natur Plus” by the Manor Group.

Organic and more: Assuring quality in the food sectorq.inspecta is a subsidiary of bio.inspecta. The q.inspec-ta GmbH portfolio includes all the services not related to organic certification. Processors and marketers in particular are nowadays faced with a multitude of qual-ity and product requirements, e.g. in the areas of food safety or in meeting the various label standards. bio.inspecta’s and q.inspecta’s top management team and internal organization are identical. Through its subsid-iary bio.inspecta ltd., with headquarters in Izmir, Tur-key, bio.inspecta AG serves parts of the international market. This overall structure makes it possible to re-spond to the needs of enterprises and businesses in a flexible, practical and effective manner.

Comprehensive range of services The bio.inspecta AG company, its subsidiary q.inspecta GmbH and their partners provide a comprehensive range of services, all from one source, for assured organic quality in farming incl. livestock husbandry, the food industry and at the international level.

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Safety and credibility

Networkbio.inspecta is well networked and maintains regular professional exchanges within a range of strategic partnerships with competent certification bodies in Switzerland, europe and beyond.

Organic Farm Assessment The organic trade in Switzerland is showing strong growth and demand for organic suppliers is grow-ing accordingly, especially in the farming sector. bio. inspecta AG supports farm holdings in sustainable development, whether they are solely engaged in agri-cultural production or also involved in the processing of farm fine foods. A simple and non-binding Organic Farm Assessment can quickly show how “fit” a holding is for organic conversion (see page 4).

Service package for organic certification: safe and yet straightforwardA range of online services and instruments simplify the challenging certification processes, create transparency and provide clarity and also save much valuable time. Thanks to the eASY-CeRT customer portal enterpris-es have direct, swift and secure access to information on their business partners’ certification and label status (see page 4). As a new development, all certificates also in the farming sector now carry QR codes, providing for even better traceability and safety along the value chain.Various online instruments also simplify certification processes. The inspectanet for example provides prepa-ration checklists for inspection visits and a platform for secure and fast online data entry for assessing new prod-ucts or changes made to existing products (see page 4). In cooperation with selected partners, bio.inspecta AG is currently introducing a new database designed as a chain-of-custody system for recording transactions with respect to layer chickens.

International expertise and networkingOrganic trade plays a major role around the world. Im-ported organic products must of course also be certi-fied. Moreover, Bio Suisse and other organic standards demand a whole-farm approach. Additional require-ments such as a prohibition on air transport are com-ponents of a comprehensive sustainability strategy. For many Swiss marketers of organic products, exports of quality organic products are of great economic signifi-cance and supplement their domestic turnover. When it comes to organic exports, bio.inspecta AG can provide certification in accordance with the organic standards required in the partner country.In the global organic trade the same international re-quirements apply to organic certification bodies as they do in Switzerland. But standards are not everything – technical expertise and personal contacts in the certi-fication network are indispensable to maintaining safe-guards along the value chain.

Information and contactsbio.inspecta AGMelanie FriedliAssistant to the Managing DirectorMarketing & CommunicationAckerstrasseCH-5070 Frick

Direct +41 62 865 63 18Fax +41 62 865 63 01melanie.friedli@bio-inspecta.chwww.bio-inspecta.ch

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Background informationbio.inspecta – Overview of services offered

LMTOnce a year, bio. inspecta, together with selected partners, organizes a “Food Day” (Lebensmitteltag – LMT). This is the leading Swiss convention on food safety, where speakers give presentations on the issues of current concern. The day further provides a forum for establishing and maintaining contacts within the food sector www.lebensmitteltag.ch

EASY-CERTCertificate platform and customer portaleASY-CeRT gives you direct, swift and secure access to information on your business partners’ certification and label status. You gain transparency and clarity, and save much valuable time. With eASY-CeRT you can make sure that the products you purchase have the la-bel status you desire. In the customer portal you can view and edit your own company data and set up your own supplier lists.If you use the supplier management module you also have all your business partners’ certification and label status information at hand.As a new development, also all certificates in the farming sector now carry QR codes, providing for even better traceability and safety along the value chain. www.easy-cert.ch

Organic Farm Assessment Is your farm “fit” for conversion to organic?Are you interested in converting to organic farming? Are you looking for new prospects for your farm and your family? Would you like to know how ready your farm is for organic production under the Bio Suisse Bud label?

Make use of bio.inspecta’s Organic Farm As-sessmentYour Organic Farm Assessment:• We visit you on your holding.• Free of charge.• The farm assessment will show you where you may

have to make adjustments in order for your farm to be compliant with the organic standards.

• We recommend advisory services, as appropriate.• Duration: 2 to 4 hours. www.bio-inspecta.ch/htm/biobetriebscheck.htm

inspectanetbio.inspecta’s online service for competent and accurate product appraisal and certificationDo you want to have a new organic or otherwise-la-belled product certified? Simply submit the necessary documentation via inspectanet. As soon as the certifica-tion process is completed, the new product appears on eASY-CeRT – on your product list. This allows your customers to see your novelties at all times. Do you have a product idea, have you brought out a new product or improved an existing one? If you want to be sure that it meets all the required standards and regulations, we will check its suitability to be placed on the market under Swiss food law, and whether it complies with the Organic Ordinance or other label requirements.Furthermore, inspectanet allows you to prepare opti-mally for the next inspection, and to learn about ad-ditional labels that may be of interest to you. All the current inspection preparation checklists are available. You can fill these out at your leisure and store them to your computer.You can submit your inspection or certification doc-umentation quickly and easily online. You will receive e-mail updates letting you know the progress made. Your access to the system also allows you to view all commissions at any time, and to generate new ones.After we have received all the required documenta-tion from you, we will appraise your commission rap-idly and reliably.Instructions on how to use inspectanet are available under the «Download documents» tab. You are not a client of ours yet? Make contact. www.produktepruefung.ch

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Basic information

bio.inspecta clientele•5000 farming operations•1800 processing compa-

nies and dealerships• International projects

with a large number of associated small farms

Founding year and milestones1999 bio.inspecta is founded and takes over the du-

ties of the FiBL inspection service2003 Introduction of e-cert software for inspection

and certification procedures2006 Founding of the subsidiary q.inspecta GmbH2008 Introduction of easy-cert.ch: Switzerland’s

central labelling and certification platform2009 Partnership with SQS in Zollikofen and OIC

in Lausanne2010 Founding of the Turkish subsidiary

bio.inspecta Ltd

Organizationbio.inspecta AG is organized as a stock corporation. It has a share capital of 969,500.00 Swiss francs.

Shareholders are:• the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL)

in Frick, • the Swiss Foundation for the Promotion of Organic

Agriculture (Schweizerische Stiftung zur Förderung des biologischen Landbaus) in Frick,

• the Association for Biodynamic Agriculture (Deme-ter) in Arlesheim,

• the Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems (SQS) in Zollikofen (Be),

• Austria Bio Garantie (ABG) in enzersfeld • and 353 producers, licensees of the BIO SUISSe

“Bud” (Knospe) and Demeter organic labelling schemes, as well as consumers, employees, envi-ronmental and organic farming organizations.

Management, divisions, and heads of divisions• Managing Director, Ueli Steiner• Administration & Finances, Dora Studer• Processing & Trade, Reto Bruderer• Agriculture, Meike Wollenberg Martínez and

Nicole Sozzi• Business Development, Ueli Steiner

Number employed• in Frick

49 employees• all of Switzerland

41 external employees• internationally

employees Turkish subsidiary bio.inspecta Ltd, inspectors of our partner organizations

Annual turnover6,7 million Swiss francs President of the Administrative Board• President, Peter Jossen• Vice president, Urs Niggli

Members of the Administrative Board• Susanna Küffer-Heer• Christian Hockenjos• Hans Matzenberger• Felix Müller

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2014 bio.inspecta AG

Ackerstrasse, PostfachCH-5070 Frick

q.inspecta GmbHAckerstrasse, PostfachCH-5070 Frick

Tel. +41 (0)62 865 63 00Fax +41 (0)62 865 63 01admin@bio-inspecta.chwww.bio-inspecta.ch

Tel. +41 (0)62 865 63 00Fax +41 (0)62 865 63 01info@q-inspecta.chwww.q-inspecta.ch

Imprint

Publisherbio.inspecta AG / q.inspecta GmbHAckerstrasse5070 FrickTel. +41 (0)62 865 63 00www.bio-inspecta.ch

Project management and coordinationbio.inspecta AG, department marketing

TextsPeter Jossi (freelance journalist)bio.inspecta AG

LayoutGrafi katelier M. Schmid, Gipf-Oberfrick

PicturesPage 1: FotoliaPages 2, 3, 4: bofoto, Philippe Bodinger, Nieder weningenPages 5, 6: bio.inspecta

bio.inspecta AG team 2013