A. Newly insert the certification standards for organic foods, etc. (attached Table 3)

Prescribe the provision for obligating persons who apply for or renew the certification of organic foods, etc., to receive training related to environment-friendly agriculture

B. Newly insert and strengthen the standards and procedures for administrative dispositions such as revocation of certification (attached Table 8) subparagraph 2, item a (c) 3) organic livestock products i), and j)

4) organic apiculture products f), and g)

7) antibiotic-free livestock products h), and i)

8) handling persons c), d), e), etc.

C. Newly insert the certification standards for pesticide-free agricultural products, etc. (attached Table 11)

Prescribe the provision for obligating persons who apply for or renew the certification of pesticide-free agricultural products, etc., to receive training related to environment-friendly agriculture.

※ The Amendment to the Enforcement Rule of the Act is prescribed as a part of the Food Safety Comprehensive Measures (Dec. 27, 2017) announced by the Prime Minister’s Office to protect the lives and safety of the people by improving food safety, etc. with the pesticide egg case (Aug. 2017) as momentum.

(1) Reasons for Proposal

This Amendment aims to obligate a certified business entity to receive training so that environment-friendly certified products that people can trust can be distributed; newly insert provisions concerning sanitation and safety management such as prohibition against the use of pesticides for livestock products; and rationally improve upon the standards for dispositions to be taken for breaching the standards for designation of certification bodies as well as effectively certify environment-friendly agricultural foods, thereby improving relevant provisions.

(2) Major Provisions

A. Obligate certified business entities to receive training related to environment-friendly agriculture (Article10, Article 16, paragraph 1, attached Table 3, and attached Table 11)

1) Obligate persons who apply for or renew the certification to receive the training related to environment-friendly agriculture biennially.

B. Improve labelling standards for organic foods, etc., and pesticide-free agricultural products, etc. (Article 18, paragraph 2, attached Table 5, attached Table 6, and attached Table 12)

1) Exclude “the name of certification body” from the list of items subject to mandatory labelling in the labelling standards for organic foods, etc., and pesticide-free agricultural products, etc., to minimize the inconvenience to certified business entities caused by the change of the certification body.

C. Prescribe the methods for making an additional announcement on application for designation of institutes for public disclosure (Article 60, paragraph 1)

1) Newly insert the proviso that in case of an emergency such as revocation of designation as an institute for public disclosure, application for designation of institutes for public disclosure may flexibly be made public, thereby minimizing the inconvenience to concerned persons caused by the revocation of the designation of institutes for public disclosure.

D. Expand the scope of information provided by the environment-friendly certification management information system (Article 70, paragraph 1)

1) Expand the scope of information on certified business entities against which any administrative disposition has been taken, etc., provided by the environment-friendly certification management information system, thereby satisfying consumers’ right to know.

E. Supplement the certification standards by prescribing provisions concerning sanitation and safety management (attached Table 3 and attached Table 11)

1) Improve upon regulations on product quality management by prescribing provisions for in-harvest and post-harvest workers sanitation, tools and equipment sanitary management and prevention of environmental pollution around certified farms so that environment-friendly certified products can be distributed.

2) Supplement the provisions for prohibition against the use of pesticide-containing materials in organic livestock products and antibiotic-free livestock products.

F. Extend the recording period for manufacturing, processing and handling persons’ materials (attached Table 4)

1) Extend the recording period for manufacturing, processing and handling persons’ management-related materials from current three (3) months to one (1) year in a manner that is consistent with the validity of certification.

G. Strengthen the standards for issuing a disposition to certified business entities engaged in unjust acts (attached Table)

1) Divide the standards for issuing an administrative disposition into one for certified business entities and the other for certified products, etc., to prevent confusion that occurs when applying administrative dispositions.

2) Prescribe the standards for issuing a disposition of revoking certification granted to certified business entities where pesticides (including pesticide-containing materials) are used in animal houses, or pesticides (including pesticide-containing materials) are detected in livestock products.

3) Prescribe the grounds on which to order corrective actions in the first violation of the standards for agricultural products certification in livestock products, organic processed foods, etc., due to force majeure factors.

H. Improve the qualifications standards for certification auditors (attached Table 9-2)

1) Abolish the provisions for obtaining the certification auditor qualification only with experience in certification auditing, and add a person who has obtained a veterinarian’s license to the list of the qualified certification auditors to enhance the expertise of livestock product certification.

I. Improve the standards for administrative dispositions issued by certification bodies (attached Table 10)

1) Allow a certification body that has received a “Good“ or better evaluation to succeed to the status of another certification body, excluding the number of violations committed by another certification body.

2) Issue dispositions in the case of noncompliance with the designation standards by fragmenting the standards therefor in detail so that the dispositions can be made according to the severity of the matter.

J. Expand the inspection scope of hazardous ingredients of publicly disclosed organic agricultural materials (attached Table 13 and attached Table 14)

1) Add organic synthetic pesticides to the list of publicly disclosed organic agricultural materials subject to inspection, thereby establishing a basis to produce certified environment-friendly products that people can trust.