8.

Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 1

Selling/Buying Procedures

• The buying, handling, processing, and exporting of products are

usually the responsibility of the ICS operator, but is is also possible
that another party (e.g. the processor) takes responsibility for product
flow right from the farm gate. ( see chapters “project organisation”)

• Buying procedures ensure that the product is purchased from certified

farmers only.

• The product once it enters the processing system it remains certified

organic and must not be contaminated or commingled with un-
certified products.

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 2

Options for Selling/Buying

There are a number of variations The ICS operator is responsible for

in the selling and buying of ensuring all the requirements are
products. met.

• Farmers may sell directly to the

purchase officer at the farm
gate.

• Farmers may transport

products themselves to a
buying center.

• Combination of both options.

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 3

Buying/ Selling Procedures & Documentation

Buying Procedures (from farmer) Buying Documentation

Prepare/set up buying point (scales, farmer list,
cash for payments, receipt book).
Buying officer to check each farmer’s
identification and organic status.
Buying officer inspects farmer’s product
quality and weigh or count.
Pay money and prepare receipt.
Intermediate storage.
Load on to transport.
Receive at processing plant – check
consignment against buying list.
Buying list or (official) Certified Farmers List
– check farmer’s status.
Buying list – enter amount of product for
purchase, farmer’s name, date of sale, organic
quality.
Receipt issued– farmer’s details, date,
quantity sold, organic quality, and price paid.
Labeling of bags (organic, code/lot); keeping
updated stock registers.
Optional documents: usually a consignment
note including a copy of the Buying List.
Optional documents: usually sign-off on
buying list by warehouse manager.

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 4

Sample Buying List

Important for buying documentation:

• indicated organic quality
• quantity
• farmer‘s name &code number
• farmer receives a receipt
• product named (if different products)

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 5

How to Avoid Mistakes During Buying

To ensure that the buying process is managed efficiently the ICS buying
officers or contract buyers should:

• Ensure there are enough staff to handle the

buying in a managed way.

• Ideally have at least two persons, one assessing

and weighing the product the other recording the
details and paying the farmer.

• Close supervision by other ICS staff.

• Ensure that the buying staff are trained and know

their job.

• Staff should receive at least one training per year

to update changes to documents and procedures
for recording and reporting data on products.
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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 6

Product Flow Control

Product flow is is a term used to track the movement of a

product through the various stages of processing, handling and
storage

Purchase Central Contracted

Center Warehouse Processor
Farm

Export

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 7

Who Is In Charge?

The ICS should supervise and control the product flow from farm
through to export.

Alternatively the responsibility of the ICS operator may stop at any

point that the product is sold to a processor or trader. In this case the
processor or trader must be individually certified with procedures in
place for the ensuring the compliance with the handling criteria.

Purchase Central Contracted

Center Warehouse Processor
Farm

Export

ICS operator Buying processor/trader

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 8

Your Product Flow

Indicate the different steps in your product flow in the boxes and connect them
with arrows and explainations if necessary

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 9

Example Product Flow Pepper (overview)

Farmer Drying at farm Packing/Storage

harvests at farm

Transport of product
Transportation Collection to collection centre
to warehouse (Procurement) by farmer

Warehouse: storage Processing & Export: transport,

& consolidation packing packing of
(combination in container
bigger lots)

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 10

Example Product Flow Pepper India with risks (1)

Farmer harvests Drying at farm Packing/

Storage at farm

• Quality aspects (ripe) • Pest Protection Drying Yard • Contaminated bags.

• Use of pesticides against
ants.
• Any protection against
insects, other animals.
• Use of inputs in intercrops.
• Contaminated picking
bags
• Hygienic contamination
• Product Quality
• Commingling (dry product
of other farms, joint drying)
• Contamination (drying at road,
close to spraying farmer,
malaria prevention program)
• Labeled
• Commingling with last years
product stock (other status)
• Product Quality
• Storage Pest control

• mixing org. - buffer zone • use of any ingredients/auxiliaries

crops

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 11

Example Product Flow Pepper India with risks (2)

Transport of product
to collection centre Collection Transportation
by farmer (Procurement) to warehouse

• Weighing, wrong data recorded • Contamination by previous

• Adding uncertified product
• Unregistered/sanctioned truck loads.
• common vehicle -
farmers deliver. • Lack of accompanying
commingling?
• Purchase officer is not informed documents
• Proper labelling
on farmers status. • Co-mingling
/prelabelled bag would
help? • Commingling • Labelling
• Or avoid transport by • Fraud by purchase officer • delivery to wrong
farmers? One farmer --> Have 2 persons, well trained warehousing area
delivering for several --> clear system & procedures
--> labelling

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 12

Example Product Flow Pepper with Risks (3)

Warehouse: storage Processing &

& consolidation packing
• Own or contracted?
• Own or contracted?
• Commingling of qualities
• Ingredients/Auxiliaries
• incorrect records of consolidation
• same as warehouse
• labelling
• contamination by machines
• facility pest management incl. Fumigation
• mixing of lots
• Product conservation agents
• Packing Material (even ink, glue, etc.)
• contamination from previous use of warehouse
• certification of all incoming suppliers: product
• - stock records certificates before processing
• - process record of consolidation • Attention: check of incoming goods
• - organic “sign” • certification of all processing steps
• - palett system (Not on ground) • --> cleaning
• --> have clear recipes and processing
documentation
• Export documentation (“organic” missing) • announce change of recipes, all recipes.
• Container (fumigation, etc.) stuffing where?
• Warehouse at harbour any risk of contamination?
Export level
• Application for Inspection certificates
• Inform certifier (and client) of changes in suppliers

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 13

Minimum Requirements for Handling I

Identification of the product in all stages in the storage, processing and

handling of a product. Examples
• Dedicated containers, one colour for organic only, distinctive sack labels with
“organic”
• Distinctive packaging for finished product (often minimum label wording is
prescribed)
• Indication of “organic” in records, transport papers, etc..

Strict separation of the product (certified organic and not certified organic),
Examples:
• Dedicated handling areas,
• Arrows directing organic product flow throughout the facilities,
• Dedicated store areas, store areas clearly marked organic only,
• Dedicated machinery
• Dedicated transport
• Separation can also be guaranteed if the same machines, handling areas etc. are
used (see later)

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 14

Minimum Requirements for Handling II

No prohibited methods used to process product or fumigate storage and

processing areas.
• No fumigation of warehouses or containers with products
• No ionization or irridiation of products
• Declaration of all inputs
• Protocols to manage possible problems in accordance with standards

Pest management of storage areas must be in accordance with standards

• Pest management protocol and records
• Check types of possible pests to assess possible problems and implement
organic treatment options

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 15

Storage of Organic Products

Clean Store,
protect products
in store
Organic
Clearly Only
labeled storage
containers areas

Storage of
organic
products
Contract
storage
Organic covered by
pest contract
control

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 16

Example: Processing Steps I

Post-harvest Treatment
on the farms
• drying
• peeling/de-shelling
• cutting
• de-pulping (coffee)

Fruit drying in Turkey Coffee de-pulping

Drying and selecting parchment

Tea processing at farmer‘s place in
coffee in Bolivia
China
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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 17

Example: Processing Steps II

At central processing site

and/or contracted processor
• washing/drying
• sorting/grading
• blending and mixing
• grinding/cutting
• de-hulling (e.g. dry processing coffee)
• multi-ingredient processing

(e.g. frying banana chips in oil) Grading and sorting bananas in the
• packaging Phillipines

Packaging potato
starch in China

Frying of bananas in oil

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 18

Important Requirements for Organic Processing

Separation & Identification

- separation during processing
- separation during storage & transport
- labelling as „organic“ at all stages
- lot number system if possible

Organic ingredients & processing aids

- only organic ingredients
- only permitted processing aids

Documentation
- processing records
- warehouse records
- inventory records

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 19

How Is Separation During Processing Ensured?

Examples of how separation of organic and non-organic products can

be achieved:
• only handle organic goods
• separate production lines (e.g. processing machinery)
• process organic goods at separate times e.g. only every Monday morning
when all machines are clean
• all processing is striclty batch-wise
• well-trained staff
• continous supervision during
organic processing

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 20

Important Aspects of Organic Export

Separation

No contamination (fumigation etc.)

Documentation

SABA Farmers Association

Town A, Karnataka, India
Labeling Organic Cocoa Beans
Lot N° 2003/25
packed 25.10.2003
certified organic (EU & NOP) by IMO

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8. Buying, Handling, Storage & Export 21

Special Aspects of Organic Exports into EU

Certificates of Inspection Import Authorizations
for each consignment (German authorization as example)
CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION FOR IMPORT OF PRODUCTS FROM ORGANIC PRODUCTION
INTO THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY Der Senator für Wirtschaft und Häfen Freie
Hansestadt
1. Issuing body or authority (name and address) 2. Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 and Commission Regulation (EC)
No 1788/2001
Bremen
Institut für Marktökologie IMO
Weststrasse 51 Article 11 (1) or Article 11 (6)
Der Senator für Wirtschaft und Häfen Auskunft erteilt
CH-8570 Weinfelden Postfach 10 15 29, 28015 Bremen Herr Holenstein

Hans & Meier & Teehandel GmbH, Ku- Zimmer 240

3. Serial number of the certificate of inspection 4. Reference No authorisation under Article 11(6)
ckuckstr. 7, T (04 21) 3 61 85 xx
F (04 21) 3 61 82 xx
99134/02/163 D- 80456 Bremen
DE-BW 120-1 E-mail
Karsten.Bredemeier@wuh.bremen.de
5. Exporter (name and address) 6. Inspection body or authority (name and address) Datum und Zeichen
Ihres Schreibens
Tanzania Organic Institut für Marktökologie IMO
P.O. Box 39988 Weststrasse 51 Bremen, 2003-11-04
Dar es Salaam
CH-8570 Weinfelden

7. Producer or preparer of product (name and address) 8. Country of dispatch Vollzug der Verordnung (EWG) Nr. 2092/91 des Rates vom 24.06.1991
African Organic Producers Tanzania über den ökologischen Landbau und die entsprechende Kennzeichnung
P.O. Box 333333 der landwirtschaftlichen Erzeugnisse und Lebensmittel (Abl. EG-Nr.: L 198 S. 1)
Morogoro, Tanzania 9. Country of destination
in der geltenden Fassung
Germany

10. First consignee in the Comm unity (name and address) 11. Nam e and address of the importer
Zum Antrag auf Ermächtigung zur Einfuhr und Vermarktung von Erzeugnissen aus Drittländern er-
Logistik & Handel GmbH geht folgender
Logistik & Handel GmbH
Saatgutstrasse 5 Saatgutstrasse 5
Hamburg, Hamburg,
Bescheid :
Germany Germany

12. Marks and numbers, Container No(s). Number and kind. Trade name of the product 13. CN codes 14. Declared quantity

0803 00 19 2.793,95 kg
Certified Organic Apple Bananas, Ginger, Pawpaw, Pineapples, Passion Fruit 1. Die Firma Hans & Meier & Teehandel GmbH, Kuckuckstr. 7, 80456 Bremen wird aufgrund
0910 10 00
Quality: Fresh des Antrages von 16.09.2002ermächtigt,
0807 20 00
Invoice-N°: 2020, dt. 24.10.03 0804 30 00 folgende Produkte zu vermarkten:
B/L-N°: 761 0279 6732 0810 90 40

15. Declaration of the body issuing the certificate referred to in box 1: A Nichtverarbeitete landwirtschaftliche Erzeugnisse:
This is to certify that this certificate has been issued on the basis of the checks required under Article 4(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1788/2001 and that the products designated
above have been obtained in accdordance with rules of production and inspection of the organic production method which are considered equivalent in accordance with the
-/-
provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91.

B Verarbeitete landwirtschaftliche Erzeugnisse:

Date Schwarztee, Grüntee
24.01.03
Exporteur: Organic Tea Exports Pvt. Ltd., Westhill Rd. 254, Calcutta – 700 001
Name and signature of the authorised person Stamp of issuing authority or body

L. Raduner

Training Manual on Setting Up and Harmonising Internal Control Systems