Product certification
Performance and quality assurance
Follow Product certification on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!
We include updates on Organic food, Nondestructive testing, Rainforest Alliance, Technischer Überwachungsverein, Energy Star, SGS S.A., Acid-free paper, Certified wood, The a2 Milk Company, Health claim, Clerk of works, Organic Crop Improvement Association, California Certified Organic Farmers, Nemko, Demeter International, Type approval ... and more.
| November 2024 |
B Corporation
B Corporation certification reached a milestone of 9,187 certified companies across 161 industries in 216 countries, with significant presence in Canada (1,079 companies), Australia (1,032 companies), France (1,232 companies), and the United Kingdom (3,144 companies).
|
| July 2024 |
B Corporation
Four Havas agencies lost their B Corp status over work for Shell plc.
|
| January 2024 |
B Corporation
Aqua, a B Corp-certified bottled water brand, topped the audit of Indonesia's biggest plastic polluters.
|
| 2023 | A similar lawsuit by Corporate Accountability Lab (CAL) against Rainforest Alliance was dismissed by the Washington, D.C. Superior Court. |
| June 2023 |
Organic certification
The State Register of Operators Producing Organic Products and the State Register of Certification Bodies in Organic Production were launched by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, providing a comprehensive tracking system for organic producers and certifiers.
|
| 2022 |
B Corporation
30 Certified B Corps joined with Fair World Project to petition against Nespresso's B Corp certification due to only 28% of their aluminum capsules being recycled.
|
| 2021 |
B Corporation
BrewDog, a Fully Certified B Corp, was accused by former staff of having a 'rotten culture', resulting in the rescission of its B Corp status.
|
| December 31 2021 | End of 2021: Herbs certification threshold changes from 40 percent to 50 percent, transitioning the organization's certification standards. |
| July 2021 | Audits against the new 2020 Rainforest Alliance certification standard were scheduled to begin, marking a transition for certified farms. |
| July 2021 | A new certification program based on the 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard was implemented, with transition rules allowing existing UTZ certification holders to progress to the new program. |
| June 2021 | The Rainforest Alliance's new shared responsibility approach and 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard were set to be fully implemented by mid-2021. |
| 2020 | The Guardian published a critical report alleging labor exploitation, illegal agrochemical use, and concealment of undocumented workers by Costa Rican pineapple growers certified by the Rainforest Alliance. |
| December 18 2020 | Rainforest Alliance organized a roundtable with banana sector representatives to further discuss the new standard, but the meeting was criticized by banana associations for lacking constructive dialogue and failing to clarify implementation strategies. |
| November 27 2020 | Banana associations called a tripartite roundtable with European Union retailers to discuss the new standard and shared responsibility guidelines, with the Rainforest Alliance notably absent from the meeting. |
| August 2020 | David Bortolussi was appointed CEO and managing director. |
| July 23 2020 | Rainforest Alliance held a meeting with banana associations to discuss perspectives on the new standard, where producers highlighted the lack of recognition for their environmental and social investments. |
| July 17 2020 | Latin American banana producer and exporter associations from Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Guatemala sent an open letter to the Rainforest Alliance challenging the new 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard, expressing concerns that only 2 percent of their demands were taken into account. |
| June 2020 | Rainforest Alliance updated its certification program, introducing the new Sustainable Agriculture Standard with enhanced environmental, social, and economic requirements, expanding certification to products like pineapples, hazelnuts, coconut oil, orange juice, and vegetables. |
| 2019 |
Organic certification
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine approved the Order on the Approval of the State Logo for Organic Products, registering the state logo for organic products as a trademark owned by the ministry.
|
| 2019 | Significant problems emerged with four auditing organizations working in the Ivory Coast, potentially impacting the certification process. |
| December 2019 | Jayne Hrdlicka resigned as CEO after her husband's kidney tumor diagnosis, with Geoffrey Babidge returning as interim CEO. |
| October 2019 | Washington Post reported that UTZ certified cocoa farms were more likely to employ child labor, and over 4,900 UTZ-certified farms were illegally located within national forests. |
| October 2019 | The a2 Milk Company announced the discontinuation of a2 milk in the UK, with products to be available only until the end of November 2019. |
| January 2019 |
B Corporation
B Lab released the sixth version of the B Corp Impact Assessment, marking a significant update to their certification process and evaluation standards.
|
| 2018 |
Organic certification
By this year, China had more than 19,000 valid organic certificates and 66 organic certification bodies in operation.
|
| 2018 | The a2 Milk Company announced it had around 9,000 stores in its US distribution network selling a2 and a2 MILK branded products. |
| July 2018 | Jayne Hrdlicka took over as CEO of the company. |
| January 2018 | The legal merger between Rainforest Alliance and UTZ was officially completed, creating a unified organization. |
| January 2018 | The merger between UTZ and Rainforest Alliance was legally closed and completed, with the merged organization taking the name Rainforest Alliance. |
| 2017 | Rainforest Alliance introduced the Sustainable Agriculture Standard based on a gradual improvement system, requiring farms to meet specific criteria for initial certification |
| 2017 | UTZ certified 1.5 million tons of cocoa, which represented approximately two-thirds of the world's supply of certified cocoa. |
| June 2017 | Rainforest Alliance and UTZ announced their intention to merge, initiating a strategic organizational consolidation. |
| June 2017 | UTZ and Rainforest Alliance announced their intention to merge. |
| 2016 | The lawsuit filed by WASH was dismissed by the court, with the judge ruling that WASH lacked standing to sue. |
| January 1 2016 | The organization shortened its name to UTZ, which means 'Good' in the Mayan language Quiché. |
| 2015 | Launched A1 protein-free whole milk powder and A1 protein-free ice cream products. |
| 2014 | Water and Sanitation Health (WASH) filed a civil lawsuit against Rainforest Alliance, alleging the organization was responsible for unfair marketing by certifying Chiquita banana suppliers as sustainable despite environmental and health concerns in Guatemala. |
| 2014 | UTZ was reported as the largest program for sustainable farming of coffee and cocoa globally, highlighting its significant impact in sustainable agriculture certification. |
| June 2014 | The a2 Milk Company reported having 20 dedicated farms supplying milk for processing in the UK, with £1 million in sales through 1,000 stores in its first year. |
| January 1 2014 | The a2 Milk Company exited its joint venture with MWD by acquiring MWD's stake for a 'nominal' amount. |
| March 2013 | A2 Corporation listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange main board. |
| 2012 |
B Corporation
Sistema B was established to adapt the B Corps movement in Latin America, focusing on creating a regional framework for B Corporation certification across countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Colombia.
|
| 2012 | UTZ certified 13% of global cocoa production, representing 535,000 tons out of a total global production of 2,889,000 tons. |
| December 2012 |
Organic certification
Organic certification was officially implemented in Argentina through a Ministry of Agriculture resolution.
|
| July 2012 | German magazine Ökotest published an article labeling UTZ and other certification programs as unfair due to lack of pre-financing and guaranteed minimum purchase prices. |
| 2011 |
Organic certification
China issued the Organic Standard GB/T 19630.1-4—2011, which established the standard procedure for organic certification processes performed by the China Quality Certification Center (CQC).
|
| November 2011 | The a2 Milk Company formed a joint venture with Müller Wiseman Dairies (MWD) to process, market, and sell A1 protein-free milk products in Britain and Ireland. |
| February 2011 | A2 Corporation announced its first profitable half-year, with a net profit of $894,000. |
| 2010 | The a2 Milk Company bought out more than 99% of ISI's share in the joint venture. |
| April 2010 | A2 launched yoghurt made with A1 protein-free milk in Australia. |
|
We are only showing the most recent entries for this topic. |
|
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Rainforest Alliance, Organic certification, B Corporation (certification), UTZ Certified & The a2 Milk Company, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.