About
Ever since 1988, we have been working together to enable and build a more natural and sustainable future through innovation technology, research and market guarantees. We are one of the leading working groups focusing on discussion, communication and representation in the organic sector at international level. We are that Made- in-Italy community that learns from the past and looks to the future.
Consorzio
history
Consorzio il Biologico Società Cooperativa was founded in 1988 by a group of companies working in the fields of the production, processing and distribution of organic food and agricultural products, with the aim of providing the best guarantees to both consumers and the market.
Our founding members are among the genuine pioneers in the Italian organic sector dedicated to the introduction and promotion of the natural aspects of organic production through innovation and the best technology developed in the farming and the agrifood industries.
It began life with the name Consorzio per il Controllo dei Prodotti Biologici (CCPB) (The Consortium for the Control of Organic Products). In order to spread the use of organic products, a rigorous, tightly-controlled certification system is needed. It is therefore necessary to follow the guidelines of IFOAM (the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements), the leading international standardisation authority for the organic sector.
The other essential step forward is involvement of a great many supply chains thus including ever more businesses and products and increasing the range of products and services on offer.
Clear and uniform regulations are the best possible guarantee for a market extending over the whole continent and for consumers seeking out the most natural products.
Such official intervention lays the ground for high quality production and it massively raises the level of trust for both companies and certification bodies.
Italian legislative decree 220/1995 was designed to set national standards for the operation of the certification system within the European context. It therefore establishes the structure of the inspection and certification system. It defines the procedures for companies entering the system, the necessary authorisations and accreditations for the certification bodies to perform their functions and it regulates product labelling.
Thanks to both Italian national and EU standards, certification becomes a valid system, moving from an experimental relatively unstructured phenomenon to a complex, highly professional mechanism.
Under the Rural Development Policy (RDP), the second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), organic farming methods gained financing. In both Italy and Europe it was understood that the organic route could lead to sustainable innovation. In just a few years there was an increase in operators and areas, also leading to an increase in the work of the certification bodies.
The same was true for the CCPB which grew from a small enterprise to a much larger and more structured entity, thereby increasing its number of employees, inspectors and partners
EC 834/2007came into being, its new applications and national standards becoming the principal point of reference for organic farming for over ten years. The regulation was approved to coincide with the EU’s eastern enlargement, extending it to 27 countries.
The new regulation came into force on 01.01.2009, replacing the previous EEC Reg. 2092/91. In the years following its publication, this led to a massive growth in both the sector and the certification bodies.
From its previous incarnation as the CCPB, the beginning of 2008 saw the birth of two distinct organisation, each with their own independent functions and management teams: CCPB S.r.l. and Consorzio il Biologico Soc. Coop.
The first is concerned exclusively with inspection and certification, while the second body engages in the work of promoting and encouraging the growth of the organic sector.
The Consorzio reaches 150 members. Its activity includes about ten exhibitions, conferences and dissemination and promotion events every year. At the Biofach in Nuremberg the Consorzio’s exhibition area reaches 1,000 square meters and hosts 50 companies.
Consorzio il Biologico and TÜV Nord are forming an alliance through the establishment of a holding company, OICOS (International Organization for Certification On Sustainability). The purpose of the company is to raise awareness on the importance of TIC processes (Testing, Inspection, Certification) and to promote the development of the relevant production sectors, with a focus on sustainability.
Thank to one of global certificaion leader, the Consorzio opens a internation perspective to its members and to whole organic farming.