Program for the Assessment of the Competence of Certifying Bodies
When agricultural and food products subject to governmental regulations must be submitted to certification bodies, it should be with the assurance that these bodies perform their certification activities in an impartial and competent manner. For this reason, many of these organizations seek accreditation from a regulatory authority. The Program for the Assessment of the Competence of Certifying Bodies run by the CAEQ is relevant to all certifying organizations, regardless of their nature.
Assessment services pertaining to the accreditation of certification bodies
Accreditation of certification bodies applies particularly to organizations that offer certification of products which are subject to governmental regulation. It may also pertain to organizations anywhere in the world that certify products destined for Canada, according to a set of standards regulated by the Canadian government. The CAEQ is recognized by the competent authorities having responsibility for each area of certification for which the CAEQ offers accreditation assessment services.
The CAEQ verifies the competence of certification bodies with respect to the requirements of the International standard of the ISO/IEC Guide 17011:2004. The accreditation criteria used by the CAEQ to conduct such verification are based on the international standard of the ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996. The PDF documents below specify the conditions that must be met to obtain accreditation from a regulatory authority on behalf of which the CAEQ assesses the competence of certification bodies.