Rules for the issue of the Certificate of Conformity for Food Products and granting of the relative Licence to use the Quality Mark

Transcription

1 Rules for the issue of the Certificate of Conformity for Food Products and granting of the relative Licence to use the Quality Mark Effective from 12 November 2013 RINA Services S.p.A. Via Corsica, Genova - Italy Tel Fax: Technical Regulation

2 of the relative Licence to use the Quality Mark CAP.1 GENERAL 1 CAP. 2 DEFINITION....2 CAP. 3 ISSUE OF THE CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY FOR FOOD PRODUCTS AND GRANTING OF THE RELATIVE LICENCE TO USE THE QUALITY MARK... 4 CAP. 4 MAINTENANCE OF CERTIFICATION CAP. 5 RECERTIFICATION CAP. 6 ADMINISTRATION OF CERTIFICATES OF CONFORMITY ' CAP. 7 CERTIFICATE MODIFICATION CAP. 8 LICENSEE DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY CAP. 9 PRODUCTS MODIFICATIONS CAP. 10 MODIFICATION OF THE STANDARDS AND / OR REFERENCE SPECIFICATIONS CAP. 11 TRANSFER OF ACCREDITED CERTIFICATES CAP. 12 SUSPENSION, RESTORE AND WITHDRAWAL OF CERTIFICATION CAP. 13 RENUNCIATION OF CERTIFICATION CAP. 14 CONTRACTUAL TERMS

3 CHAPTER 1 - GENERAL 1.1 In these Rule are defined the procedures applied by RINA for the certification of food products, according to the scheme which intend to give to the organization the right to use the Quality Mark RINA, for identification of the product itself. Moreover are defined the procedures for requesting, obtaining, maintaining and utilization, as well as the suspension and revocation of such certification. For matters not covered by this document, recall is made to "GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT FOR THE CERTIFICATION OF SYSTEMS, AND PERSONAL PRODUCTS", available on the website The granting of the license to use the MQ for a given product is made in accordance with a scheme that requires certification of compliance of the same food product according to national, international or other normative documents and / or technical specifications, according to applicable models listed below: a) Certification according to International Standard BRC (British Retail Consortium) Global Standard for Food Safety (and related documents), in the current edition; b) Certification according to International Standard BRC (British Retail Consortium) Global Standard for Packaging and packaging materials (and related documents), in the current edition; c) Certification according to International Standards IFS (International Featured Standard): IFS Food and IFS Broker (and related documents), in the current edition; d) Certification according to International Standards Globalgap (Global Standard for Good Agricultural Practice) (and related documents), in the current edition; e) Certification of Traceability in the Company and/or in the Food Chains according to the Standard ISO22005:2007; f) Certification of the Food Chain Traceability with product requirements (Controlled Chain); g) Voluntary product certification with non-gmo feature/requirement (for products specified in the Accredia document RT-11, in the current review); h) Voluntary product certification, according to specific Technical Document (TD), evaluated and approved by RINA and drawn up by the Applicant in accordance with the Guidelines for the Preparation of Technical Document (Attachment 4); i) Voluntary certification of food product according to other normative documents and / or technical specifications may be defined by special guides for the RINA Certification (see section 1.5). Access to certification is open to all Organizations and does not depend on whether they belong to any association or group. For the RINA certification activity applies its tariffs, ensuring fairness and uniformity of application. RINA is entitled to refuse requests for certification organizations covering the subject, or the production or activity is subject to restriction, suspension or disqualification by a Public Authority. 1.2 RINA activities covered by this Regulation shall apply to agricultural products of animal and vegetable food industry products of animal and vegetable origin, destined for various sectors and/or consumption. In particular and with the only exception for the International Standard BRC (British Retail Consortium) Global Standard for Packaging and packaging materials, the RINA s activities contemplated in this Rule apply to packaging products intended to come into contact and / or 1

4 potentially intended to come into contact with food or not (according to the rules of the reference Standard). 1.3 Certification by RINA refers exclusively to a single organization, where organization is a group, company, corporation, firm, corporation or institution, or part or combination thereof, whether incorporated or not, public or private, which has its own administrative and functional structure. For organizations with multiple business units and / or organizations that are part of a chain, each business unit can be defined as an organization and its certification will be issued according to the normative document and / or technical specification reference. 1.4 The granting of the license to use the MQ for a particular food product is contextual to the issuance of the Certificate of Conformity of the product to regulatory documents and / or technical specifications. This Certificate is issued on successful completion of tests on samples of the product (where applicable), on the basis of the normative documents and / or technical specifications, and verifying that the organization operates according to a defined management system in production (SG) and recognized as equivalent by RINA, according to the normative document and / or reference technical specification (see paragraphs and 3.7.2). The validity of the Certificate of Compliance in time and therefore of its license to use the MQ RINA is subject to satisfactory results of subsequent tests performed by RINA with the production rules laid down in this Regulation and / or in special guides for certification and, if expected to maintain the suitability of the product and the company's SG applied according to the normative document and / or technical specification reference. 1.5 Depending on the type of food product and the related production process / production and / or normative document and / or technical specification applicable reference RINA shall, where necessary, special "Guide for Certification" to specify rules and procedures applicable to the granting of its MQ product itself and for its maintenance. 1.6 The organization must take the measures necessary to ensure that technical investigations RINA can perform safely. Regardless of the nature of the service provided by them or by other persons acting on behalf of the same. The Organization shall, in respect of these technicians, any liability that an employer has towards its employees to comply with all conditions of the applicable legislation. Normally, during the visits, the RINA must be constantly accompanied by the staff of the Organization. 1.7 As part of this Regulation, RINA does not provide consulting services to organizations. 1.8 The Body guarantor of certifications issued by RINA (Accreditation Body) may request the participation of observers to audits by RINA, in order to ensure that the assessment procedures adopted by RINA comply with the rules that apply to the certifications on accreditation. The 2

5 participation of these observers is previously agreed between the Organization and RINA. If the organization does not give its approval to such participation, the validity of the certificate is suspended. 1.9 For certification in paragraph 1.1 a), b), c) and d) The Organization owner/managing the Standard, in accordance with contract requirements stipulated (available on the respective websites: and and - cipro) can: a) require the participation of observers to audits by RINA, in order to ensure that the assessment procedures adopted by RINA comply with the applicable rules and / or in case of complaints / disputes, for object recognition certificates. The participation of these observers and / or auditor has previously agreed between the Organization and RINA. If the organization does not give its approval to such participation, the validity of the certificate is suspended. b) directly perform (through its qualified auditors) audit in order to ensure that the assessment procedures adopted by RINA comply with the applicable rules and/or in case of complaints/objections to the certification object recognition. The planning of such audits is certified with a maximum notice period of 48 hours Organisation (same period of notice given to RINA). The audit performed by independent auditors appointed by the owner/managing the Standard will occur even in the absence of RINA representatives and/or without any notice to RINA. If the organization does not give its approval to the above activities and / or the outcome of the assessment is negative, the certificate will be revoked. For the purpose of carrying out the checks as above, shall be secured to the technicians appointed by the Organization owner/managing the Standard the free access, even without notice, during normal working hours, to the locals and archives of the production site/s of the certified product. CHAPTER 2 - DEFINITIONS 2.1 "Certification of a product": means any act by which a third-party body independent states (with the issuance of a Certificate of Conformity) that, with reasonable reliability, a product complies with one or more regulatory documents and / or technical specifications. "Certificate of Compliance": certificate issued by an independent third party body, which declares that, with reasonable confidence, a product complies with one or more regulatory documents and / or technical specifications. "License to use the Quality Mark": RINA document by which grants the Applicant the right to use the Quality Mark for a particular product. "RINA Quality Mark (QM)": trademark, applied in accordance with these Regulations, which indicates, with sufficient reliability, the continued conformity of a product all the conditions tested for the release of the Certificate of Conformity, and the production the product is kept under control by RINA through inspections and spot checks in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation. "Statement of Compliance": is the statement that the organization makes on his sole responsibility, under the provisions of this Regulation, stating that a product conforms to a specific regulatory document and / or reference technical specification specified in the Certificate Compliance. "Organization": means a corporation, operator, company, firm, corporation or association, legally recognized or not, public or private, that has its own functions and administration "Organization owner / managing of the Standard": the company that owns the Standard applies and who signed the contract for the delivery of the RINA certification authority (BRC: British Retail 3

6 Consortium, BRC Trading Limited, IFS: IFS and GLOBALGAP Management GmbH: FoodPLUS GmbH) "Applicant": is the organization that requests the issuance of the RINA Certificate of Conformity and its license to use the MQ. "Licensee": is the organization that manufactures or provides a product and that obtained from RINA the license to use the MQ, the Licensee shall accordingly be entitled to use the MQ RINA and issue statements of compliance, as determined by the provisions of these Regulations, for all types of products covered by the Certificate of Conformity. "Normative document": means a document that specifies requirements to be satisfied by a product, process or service, the document can be in various forms such as: rules, technical standards, state law, Ministerial circular, code of good practice, etc.. "Technical Specification": voluntary document that specifies requirements to be satisfied by a product, process or service, the document can be in various forms such as: specification established by the manufacturer which describes the characteristics of its product, the specification drawn up by a consortium or a producers' "Food product": means any substance or product, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended to be ingested, or reasonably expected to be ingested by humans. Includes drink, chewing gum and any substance, including water, intentionally incorporated into the food, during its manufacture, preparation or treatment. This does not include feed, live animals (unless they are prepared for placing on the market for human consumption), the plants prior to harvesting, medicinal products and cosmetics, tobacco and tobacco products, narcotic substances or psychotropic substances, residues and contaminants. "Food chain": A defined set of organizations (or operators) with the corresponding material flows that contribute to the formation, distribution, marketing and supply of a food product. The term supply chain identifies, in this context, all activities and flows that have critical importance for the characteristics of the product. "Traceability chain": Ability to reconstruct the history and follow the use of a product through documented identification (relative to the material flows and operators of the chain). "GMOs": Body whose genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating or natural recombination. "Technical Document": it is the standard reference voluntary (voluntary technical specifications) developed with the consent of all parties concerned and procedures appropriate to the characteristics of the object of certification and market expectations. They are processed, usually by the competent authorities for approval and submitted to the certification body for assessment, in consultation with stakeholders. 2.2 For all other terms used in this Regulation, the definitions of ISO 9000, UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC Standards and specifications applicable, in the current editions. CHAPTER 3 ISSUE OF THE CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY FOR FOOD PRODUCTS AND GRANTING OF THE RELATIVE LICENCE TO USE THE QUALITY MARK 3.1 To be certified by RINA, the product and its management system, as applicable, shall meet initially and over time the requirements of the normative document and / or technical specification of reference and those indicated in the following sections of this Chapter, as well as any additional elements provided by accreditation bodies and / or recognition (Examples: Document Accredia "RT- 17" relative to the requirements for accreditation of certification of "traceability systems in the agro- 4

7 food," Position Statements BRC, IFS Doctrine, etc..). As part of accreditation and / or recognition, in fact, RINA, please adhere to specific reference documents issued by the accreditation bodies and / or recognition themselves. These documents are available by contacting directly the RINA or accreditation bodies (such as consulting their websites). 3.2 Organizations wishing to obtain the release of the Certificate of Conformity of the food product and its grant of the license to use the MQ for one or more specific products, must provide the data essential to RINA for their organization and their activities and location of the site, by sending the appropriate form "Questionnaire" filled in all the parts available at on the basis of which is formulated by RINA quotation. In particular, the organization must communicate to RINA: description of the product or products subject to certification, highlighting any line exclusions and / or specific products, clearly stating the reasons; extension of the production site, number and type of production lines, number of employees, number and type of HACCP studies and other information may be required in the applicable standard (as and where relevant: eg. for the certification referred to in paragraph 1.1 a) and b)); information concerning all outsourced processes used by the influence that the requirements are met; number of sites covered by the certification and related activities; extent, depth and objectives of traceability, in the case of certification of supply chain, highlighting the number, type and location of possible sites of other organizations involved This information is required in order to check in advance the application of certain requirements of the normative document and / or technical specification reference and prepare appropriate economic offer. Organizations, in case of acceptance of economic, formalize the certification request to send RINA the specific form attached to the offer, indicating the regulatory document and / or technical specification of reference and, where appropriate, other normative document reference, according to which the certification is required. Upon receipt of the certification application and its attachments, and after their preliminary review for completeness, RINA sends the organization a written confirmation of acceptance of the request. The organization's request, which makes specific mention of these Regulations, and its acceptance by RINA, contractually formalize the relationship between RINA and the Organization and the applicability of this Regulation. The contract between RINA and the Organization include: the initial audit and the issuance of the certificate; subsequent surveillance audits and recertification; any additional services specified in the offer, including the pre-audit, if requested by the Organization. 3.3 With the application for compliance certification, or immediately after, the company shall make available to RINA: 5

8 Technical descriptive documentation (depending on the demands of the reference document), to review drawn up, where applicable, as specified in the Guidelines for the Preparation of Technical Document (available on List of relevant internal procedures for the proper application of the standard; Plan for sampling and testing products, where applicable. In the case of voluntary product certification, according to specific Technical Documents (TD) (see Section 1.1), received the technical documentation shall include the specific Technical Document (TD) drawn up by the Organization, and submitted for review and approval to RINA before we can proceed in the certification. The evaluation of the TD is to verify the completeness of the information, also according to the Guidelines (available at compliance with applicable regulatory standards and certification requirements (or characteristics/components of the peculiarity / the product/s to be certified, that they make it certifiable 1 ). Any modifications must be made by the Organization to allow approval by RINA The approval by RINA Technical Document is submitted by the implementation thereof by the Certification and allows the publication in the seats and in the manner appropriate to its spread. RINA may require at its discretion, for consideration, other documents in support of the information previously deemed important for the purposes of product certification in the subject. RINA Organization announced the names of the technicians responsible for the document review process, the organization may object to the appointment of such engineers, giving its reasons. 3.4 The application documentation is reviewed for compliance with the provisions of this Regulation, the Regulatory documents and / or technical specifications, as well as any additional elements provided by accreditation bodies and / or recognition (where required) and a special Guide for Certification (if any). 3.5 In the event that the documentation is incomplete or incorrect in some of its parts or its Annex, the Organization shall be informed and practice certification is suspended until the elimination of deficiencies found. As a result of specific agreements with the Organization, the verification of the above documents may be executed at the same (with the exception of TD). 3.6 Following the successful outcome of the assessment and, where necessary, approval of the DT, RINA notify the Organization of the technical staff responsible for carrying out the investigations necessary for the issuance of the Certificate of Conformity of the food product, the Organization may object to the appointment of such engineers, giving its reasons. 3.7 The findings of the first certified by RINA are: 1 Wherever the characteristics voluntarily defined by the applicant to characterize the product/s object of the certification have been already defined by mandatory regulations and/or it doesn t shows a clear and measurable added value achievable by the certification, it won t be able to continue through the evaluation iter. 6

9 (a) assessment of the SG applicable at the organization, and / or / the site / s concerned production / i and / or any other sites involved, including the activities of transportation and distribution (Section 3.7.1); (b) sampling, testing and testing for which certification is sought and how conformity of production control and, where necessary (paragraph 3.7.2). These investigations are carried out according to different normative documents and/or technical specifications and/or special Guide for Certification (if any), plus any additional elements provided by accreditation bodies and/or recognition Assessment Management System applicable (SG) The organization must take in / the site / s of production and, where applicable, at any other sites involved a SG, it meets the requirements of normative documents and / or technical specifications and, where applicable, any additional elements provided Bodies of recognition (eg BRC: Position Statements, IFS: Doctrine, Globalgap IFA: General Rules, etc..) and the Guidelines for the preparation of the Technical Document (available on In its Guide for Certification, if any, are defined, if not specified by reference standards, any additional requirements of this SG. During the initial audit the organization must demonstrate, by significant evidence, that the applicable Management System is fully operational for at least three months and apply effectively the same system and procedures documented for products / product lines to be certified The evaluation of the system will normally be made within the scope of the assessments referred to in paragraph as follows Checking and testing and production methods and control Specifications and, if necessary, the product specification of the product for which you are seeking certification of compliance must be submitted for prior review of RINA, to verify the compliance to the regulatory document and / or reference technical specification (see paragraph 3.3) The organization must submit to RINA, for review and approval, the documents are judged relevant to the assessment of procedures for obtaining the products. In general and as applicable, shall be submitted to RINA documents listed below, the number of copies and detail required in each individual case. The list below gives an example and is finalized with the Organization according to the specific food product to be certified. (a) Specifications of construction / production; (b) Production regulations; (c) recipes / formulations; 7

10 (d) Plans of production / processing / preparation; (e) control plans and test; (f) Quality Plans; (g) Any test reports carried out on the product or its components; The compliance of the product and its mode of implementation and control will be verified during a specific initial audit to the site/s Samples of each product should be subjected to the tests and investigations, as necessary in order to ensure full compliance of the product itself to the regulatory document and / or technical specification reference. The samples should, in particular, run the tests and inspections required by the regulatory document and / or technical specification reference number and in the manner set out therein A detailed program of the type tests, if not already defined by the reference standard, must be prepared and submitted for approval by the RINA, as applicable The samples to be tested must, as a rule, be taken, at the option of RINA, from normal, where required Any samples, specially produced for the tests, must be made by the same means and the second made the same way as for normal production. RINA reserves the right to carry out surveillance during the making of such samples. Some evidence, in the opinion of RINA, can then be repeated on samples taken from normal production and / or trade (section 5.4), for the confirmation of the results obtained on prototype samples. If certain products cannot be made for practice, RINA will consider the possibility of assessing the conformity of the product, regarding issues related to the tests themselves, through objective assessments documented (eg. Other laboratory tests representative repeatable, reproducible and properly validated) The tests should be performed (at the expense of the Organization) at an independent laboratory accredited according to UNI CEI EN ISO / IEC for the type of evidence in question and / or in the laboratory of the same organization, subject to consideration by RINA, the latter acting in accordance with that standard and is fit to perform the required tests. The tests at the laboratory of the Organization will be performed in the presence of technical RINA. In the case of tests performed at a laboratory accredited RINA reserves the right to participate or not in the preparation and / or testing. For each hazard identified, must include the requirements that must be met, the test methods to be adopted (including the uncertainty of measurement associated to the result), the criteria for 8

11 product sampling and criteria for acceptability of results. 3.8 At the end of the situations described in paragraphs and 3.7.2, the Organization is given a copy of the audit report, on which, among other things, shows the possible non-compliance and / or recommendations and / or deviations ( where provided) encountered. The organization may record its reservations to or comments on the non-compliance or comments made by technicians RINA. The content of this report is later confirmed by RINA via a letter. In the absence of written notice by RINA, the relationship is deemed to be confirmed after three working days of the delivery organization. The Organization, after analyzing the causes of any non-conformities raised on the above relationship, should propose to RINA, by the date indicated on the report, the necessary treatment of non-compliance (and / or deviations, if any) and the necessary corrective actions and a timetable for their implementation. It is possible to use the "Member Area" on the website for submitting proposals for corrective action with treatment and subsequent approval by RINA. The organization, in fact, may propose any treatments and corrective actions by filling out the forms directly in the "Member Area" on the site 2 Acceptance of these proposals and timetable for implementation shall be communicated in writing by RINA to the organization made any prejudice to the full application of what is otherwise required by applicable standards (eg BRC: Evidence of Corrective Actions sent on time previsati by the Standard). 3.9 For certification in paragraph 1.1 a),b),c) and d) the definition and management of noncompliance (and IFS deviations) is shown in the related reference Standard, where the procedure is also defined for the management of actions to be taken later. The issue, maintain and validity of the related certification depends on the application of procedures and time limits defined in the applicable standard and/or documents related to them (eg BRC: Position Statements, IFS: Doctrine, Globalgap IFA: General, etc.) In other cases, in the presence of major non-conformities 3 of the certification process is suspended in the case of other reliefs, whose abundance, in the opinion of the evaluation team is liable to result 2 In case of impossibility to access to internet, the organization will be able to fill a paper copy of the form used and send it to the RINA Office of pertinence. 3 Are considered major not conformity: the total absence of consideration of one or more requirements of the normative documents and / or specific reference techniques, the missed conformity of the results of the tests/verifications to the criterias established by the normative documents and/or specific reference techniques a situation that could lead to the delivery of a product that doesn t comply or doesn t meet the current applicable legislation Are considered minor not conformity: a situation that could cause the decreased of the ability to deliver a conform product a situation likely to cause a not serious deficiency of the applicable Management System, a situation likely to cause a not serious deficiency that however doesn t decrease the capacity to guarantee the control of the process and or of the product 9

12 in the delivery of a non-conforming or not conforming to rules force for it, the certification process is still pending. In such cases, within three months, RINA can perform an additional audit aimed to ascertain the correct application of the proposed corrective action; successful outcome of this review, the certification process is resumed. If this deadline is exceeded, you must redo the investigation referred to in paragraphs and within six months from the date of survey. At the expiration period of six months without a successful conclusion of the assessment, RINA can be considered closed practice certification, charging time and expenses incurred up to that point. In such cases, the organization that wishes to continue with the RINA certification must submit a new request and repeat the certification process. These time limits may be varied in special cases on a reasoned request of the Organization, in the opinion of RINA At completion, with favorable results of the investigation and validation by the Regulatory Committee of RINA, is issued for the product concerned, a Certificate of Conformity of food product and its license to use the MQ (whose facsimile is available on site valid for three years (unless otherwise noted in the regulatory document and / or technical specification applicable reference). The validity of the certificate is subject to the outcome of subsequent maintenance audits, usually annual (unless otherwise indicated in the normative document and / or technical specification applicable reference) and recertification, usually three years (annual or otherwise indicated on the document and regulatory / or technical specification of the applicable reference) of the product and its SG applicable. The frequency and extent of subsequent audit to maintain certification are established by RINA case basis through the development of a three-year audit, which is sent to the organization. For details on the management and validity of certificates of compliance issued by RINA see chapter 6. CHAPTER 4 - MAINTENANCE OF CERTIFICATION 4.1 During the period of validity of the Certificate of Compliance, the Organization (Licensee) must maintain the conditions that allowed the granting of the certification. The Organization (Licensee) is fully responsible for the substantial matching of the respective product samples subjected to the tests referred to in paragraph 3.7.2, if and as applicable (including, of course, any changes made with the approval of RINA, as described in Chapter 9). 4.2 During the period of validity, the Organization (Licensee) shall carry on production all the tests prescribed by the regulatory document and / or technical specification reference frequency and manner previously agreed with RINA, where and as applicable. 10

13 4.3 During this period, the Organization (Licensee) shall keep available the technical RINA sample or samples that were subjected to the tests, if and as applicable. RINA may authorize the sale of these samples should be kept appropriate records relating to them, that may enable, in the opinion of RINA, at all times and circumstances, verification of conformity of products to sample or samples submitted for testing. 4.4 RINA performs periodic audits of maintenance, as shown in the following paragraphs, the SG is applicable to the production and the organization communicates the results of its findings in the manner already indicated in paragraph 3.8, as applicable. Periodic inspections of the quality management system, where it has been certified by RINA, are made in accordance with the provisions in "Rules for the Certification of Quality Management Systems" by RINA. Otherwise, the SG, as applicable, shall be subject to periodic audits at least yearly visits to the site/s of production and/or any other sites involved. During the audit of maintenance will still be taken into consideration the following aspects: a) internal audits and reviews by management, as and when applicable; b) a review of actions taken as a result of noncompliance identified during previous audits; c) the handling of complaints; d) the effectiveness of management regarding the achievement of objectives, where and as applicable; e) progress of planned activities aimed at continuous improvement, where and as applicable; f) operational control continuously; g) the review of any change; h) any other information provided in this Regulation, the regulatory documents and / or technical specifications, as well as any additional elements provided by accreditation bodies and / or recognition (where required) and a special Guide for Certification (if any). The controls on the production are made from time to time, in the opinion of RINA, by testing of product samples taken from the production line, is that semi-finished state, from the warehouse or, if applicable, from the market, as and where applicable, to this purpose, the Licensee shall permit the RINA, the samples needed for the execution of this oversight. In the course of the above control operations will also be checked for proper use of the MQ RINA. 4.5 The audits must be conducted according to retention times and procedures specified in regulatory documents and / or technical specifications, as well as any additional elements provided by accreditation bodies and / or recognition (where required) and a special Guide for Certification (where present), and taking into account the seasonality of products / processes covered by a certification (where present and perinente. The dates of the audit of maintenance shall be agreed with the Organization (Licensee) well in advance and it officially confirmed by a written communication. The frequency of audits of maintenance at the organization must not, normally exceed 12 months (unless otherwise indicated in the normative document and / or technical specification applicable 11

14 reference) and the date by which the audits must be carried out is shown the audit program three years in possession of the Organization. This program may be modified by RINA on the basis of previous audits maintained. Deviations of the audit of maintenance beyond these limits (only if applicable), due to justifiable reasons (eg, seasonality of products / processes covered by the certification), must be agreed in advance with RINA and need to be recovered after the first audit. In any case, the date of the first audit of maintenance after the initial certification must be scheduled within twelve months from the date the final audit certificate (unless otherwise indicated in the normative document and / or technical specification applicable reference). 4.6 For method of communication of the audit can be found in section 3.8. The validity of the certificate is confirmed, following the successful completion of maintenance. 4.7 In the presence of non-conformities or other reliefs, whose abundance in the opinion of the evaluation team is liable to result in the delivery of a product not conforming or not conforming to the laws in force for it, the Licensee shall be subject to a supplementary audit by time set by RINA (except as otherwise provided by applicable standards), in relation to the importance of nonconformity and in any event, no later than three months after the end of the maintenance visit. If these do not conformità4 are not settled within the agreed time, RINA may suspend the certification until the same non-compliance have been corrected (unless otherwise indicated in the normative document and / or technical specification applicable reference) and in any case in accordance with As provided for in section All expenses relating to any additional audits are to be charged to the Organization (Licensee). 4.8 RINA also reserves the right to audit and/or additional controls, other than those provided by the three-year program, announced or unannounced, at the organization: if it receives complaints or reports, are considered particularly important with regard to compliance of the certified product to the requirements of this standard and these Regulations in relation to changes in the Organization Organizations for which certification has been suspended. In case of refusal, without reasonable cause, by the Organization, RINA can start the process of suspension of certification. In case the claims and reports are considered justified by RINA, the cost of additional audit shall be borne by the Organization. 4.9 The organization must maintain records of any complaints related to products covered by the certification and related corrective actions taken, and shall make them available to RINA together with the corrective actions taken during the audits, as and when applicable. 12

15 4.10 For the purpose of carrying out checks above, shall be secured to the technical RINA free access, without notice, during normal working hours, and the archives of the local / the site / s production of the certified product. The names of qualified technicians in charge the implementation of the audit shall be notified by RINA to the organization, who may object to appointments, giving the reasons. CHAPTER 5 - RECERTIFICATION 5.1 During the audit recertification (renewal) of Product and SG applicable, where required annually in the normative document and / or technical specification applicable reference (eg BRC, IFS, Globalgap), the organization must contact RINA lead of about three months from the date the audit program three years in his possession, in order to plan the activities and agree on the date of execution of the audit recertification. During the recertification audit of Product and SG applicable in other cases or where required, normally every three years (unless otherwise stated in the normative document and / or technical specification applicable reference - see above), the Organization Contact RINA must advance of about three months from the date the audit program three years in his possession, and send an updated copy and filled in all sections of the Questionnaire (available on the website in order you can plan the activities and agree on the date of execution of the audit recertification. The execution date of recertification audit, agreed with the organization well in advance, it is officially confirmed via a letter. The names of qualified technicians in charge of the audit shall be notified RINA organization which may object on the appointments, giving the reasons. For the recertification audits for the Standards laid down into the paragraph 1.1 a), b), c) and d) the reference standards provide the possibility of unannounced audits that are carried out in accordance with the rules and the times defined by them. In these cases, the audits must be considered substitutes (where required) of the announced audits, therefore will be carried out periodically in the same manner and validity of an announced audit, always in accordance with the applicable reference Standards. 5.2 The recertification audit aims to confirm continuing compliance of the product and the effectiveness of the SG applicable in its entirety and is based primarily on a site audit to be carried out, as a rule with the same criteria of the audit certification. The description of the activities and arrangements for the conduct of the recertification at the site/s is shown in detail in the audit program three years in his possession (in the case of annual recertification), or (in case of re-certification every three years) in the recertification audit plan which RINA sends the organization prior to the execution of the audit itself. 5.3 Following the successful re-certification audit of the audit team shall submit the proposal to RINA recertification of the Organization for the reissuance of the certificate of conformity. The certificate of conformity is reissued by RINA as a result of the successful result of this proposal of the Organization. 13

16 The confirmation of the re-certification by RINA with consequent issue of the certificate is sent in writing to the Organization. For details on the management and validity of certificates of compliance issued by RINA see chapter The recertification process must necessarily be completed, successfully, before the expiry date stated on the certificate, which can not be extended by RINA. As a result of the recertification audit must successfully conclude in time to allow the approval of the proposal by RINA recertification and subsequent reissuance of the certificate by the above date (at least one month before the expiry date stated on the certificate and / or as directed by the regulatory document and / or technical specification applicable reference). If an organization fails to comply with these deadlines and therefore do not get the re-issue the certificate within the time of expiry, the relevant certification shall be deemed expired from the day following the expiry date stated on the certificate (unless otherwise indicated in the document regulatory and / or technical specification applicable reference). The Organization, after the expiration date of the certificate, intends to request certification again, must submit a new application and follow, as a rule, the whole process planned for the initial certification. 5.5 In the presence of non-conformities or other findings 4, whose numerosity in the opinion of the audit team (and/or where required by the standard of reference) is liable to result in the delivery of a product not conforming or not conforming to the laws for it force, the organization must necessarily be applied, effectively, their treatments and corrective actions before the expiry date of the certificate of conformity. This implies that the organization must perform additional audits, to verify the closure of such noncompliance, in time for the next issuance of the certificate. The timeframe within which the organization must perform additional audit are communicated to the Organization of recertification audit report. The additional audit may be conducted on site or on the basis of documents according to the type of corrective actions to be verified in the opinion of the audit team (unless otherwise indicated in the normative document and / or technical specification applicable reference). All expenses relating to any additional audits resulting from flaws in System / Process / Product covered by certification will be considered by the organization's expense. CHAPTER 6 - ADMINISTRATION OF CERTIFICATES OF CONFORMITY 6.1 The certificate of conformity issued by RINA has a validity defined in terms of the normative document and / or technical specification applicable reference, usually from the date of approval of the proposed initial certification or recertification by RINA (unless otherwise indicated in the regulatory document and / or technical specification applicable reference - see above). 4 As defined by the applicable standards (eg IFS: KO, deviations; BRC: Critical, Major) 14

17 6.2 Since the issuance of the certificate by RINA, original copy of itself and of its three-year audit is made available to the Organization on "Member Area" of the RINA website ( The Organization, therefore, may access and download these documents directly from this area of the RINA website. For certification in paragraph 1.1 a) b) c) and d) in addition to the certification referred to above, reports or documentation for the certification (eg BRC Report, Report IFS, IFS Action Plan, GGN Globalgap, Certificates) will be made available to the Organizations on the related database of Standards applicable, into restricted areas of their sites: and/or and/or 5. In case of lack of access to Internet, the organization may request a copy in the original paper format to the Office of RINA relevance. 6.3 The validity of the certificate, during the period of validity, is conditional on the outcome of subsequent maintenance audits. A successful outcome of each recertification audit, as reported in chapter 5, has reissued the certificate of conformity. The validity of the certificate may be suspended, revoked or waived in accordance with the provisions of Chapters 12 and 13. RINA publishes and keeps updated directly on the web site the list of certified organizations; the validity status of certificates issued, indicating for each certificate state: invalid, suspended or invalid; copies of the certificates valid. Upon request, RINA provides information on the causes that have made the certificate invalid. CHAPTER 7 - AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATION 7.1 The Organization-certified and their use of the MQ RINA may request a modification or extension by submitting a new application for certification, accompanied by the documentation referred to in Section 3.2 duly updated. RINA reserves the right to consider on a case by case basis requests and to decide the mode of assessment for the purposes of issuing a new certificate in accordance with the provisions of the "GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT FOR THE CERTIFICATION OF SYSTEMS, AND PERSONAL PRODUCTS" and the document regulatory and / or technical specification applicable reference. This also applies in the case where one wishes to obtain the certification of a product against a standard document and / or technical specification other than that for which it was already certified. In this case RINA performs investigations deemed necessary and if their results are satisfactory issuing the extension of the certification request. 5 With the procedures and according to the rules defined by the respective standard and accessible on the mentioned websites 15

18 7.2 The Organization shall promptly notify any changes to RINA on issues that may affect the conformity of the product, process and / or the ability of SG to continue to meet the applicable requirements of the normative document and / or technical specification applicable reference used for certification. These provisions relate, for example, changes relating to: state legal, commercial, organizational or personal property; organization and management, (eg. Key managers or technical staff, decision making); the contact addresses and sites; the scope of activities covered by the certified management system; significant changes of the management system and processes. RINA reserves the right to perform additional audit at the organization if the changes are communicated considered particularly relevant for the maintenance of the Product / Process and SG applicable requirements of this standard and this Regulation or to review the economic condition for any modification of the contract. CHAPTER 8 LECENSE DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY 8.1 The Licensee may issue, for each product or product batch, homogeneous characteristics and production period, is placed on the MQ RINA, a Declaration of Conformity with the reference document on the basis of the template available on the website The declaration of conformity must contain the following information. (a) Name and address of the Licensee. (b) the Product specifications. (c) Number of Certificate of Compliance. (d) Document the regulatory and / or technical specification of the reference product. (e) Date of issuance of the declaration. (f) Signature of person authorized to issue. 8.3 From the data shown on the Statement of Compliance must be traceable to the results of such tests is based on the release of the declaration. 8.4 RINA may require Licensee to keep records of all Statements of Compliance issued. The register will be reviewed by technical RINA in the audit. Generally, such records will be required if there is a need to have a unique product traceability. 16

19 CHAPTER 9 - CHANGES IN THE PRODUCT 9.1 The Licensee shall promptly notify any significant changes to RINA which intends to make a product for which he received the Certificate of Compliance, the production procedures and controls applicable to the SG or adopted. 9.2 Following the evaluation of the influence that the proposed changes have on product compliance to the regulatory document and / or technical specification reference, RINA may require the repetition, in whole or in part, initial investigations set out in Chapter Following these investigations, RINA can extend the validity of the modified products relevant certifications and authorizations. 9.4 The Licensee cannot use the MQ RINA for modified products until it has obtained the written approval by RINA. RINA agrees to notify Licensee in writing of its decision within 30 days of notification of the proposed changes. CHAPTER 10 - MODIFICATION OF THE STANDARDS AND / OR SPECIFICATIONS OF REFERENCE 10.1 RINA will notify the appropriate changes made to the regulatory documents and / or technical specifications and their own regulations which are applicable to products subject to certification Consider the implications of changes, in particular those relating to aspects of safety and protection of health and the environment, and taking into account the need to avoid inadvertently encouraging the commercial a specific organization or a particular product, RINA will establish the date by which products must be adapted to the new legislation By the due date will be made on a prototype of the product and / or samples from the production, examination and tests deemed necessary by RINA to verify that the product conforms to the new rules apply, where and as applicable For successful investigations RINA will issue a new Certificate of Conformity and its license to use the MQ, modified as appropriate to name the new legislation. 17