Authorized Certification Bodies
BeVeg conducts Vegan certification integrity audits in about 200 countries. BeVeg ensures that all cooperating CBs consistently achieve our Vegan label requirements and that their certifications can be trusted and worthy of the official Vegan trademark. When it comes to selecting a CB, you have two main options:
- A fully approved and accredited CB. This is reserved for the fully qualified CBs who have successfully achieved the requirements within the BeVeg certification program and may issue the BeVeg vegan trademark indicating conformity by qualifying manufacturers and brand owners.
- An authorized CB in the process of becoming accredited. These CBs are actively working to become fully approved to the BeVeg certification program and are authorized to perform BeVeg audits.
Fully Accredited Certification Bodies
The CB must complete a rigorous process and have highly qualified and competent auditors. The CB must be accredited to ISO 17065 for product certification. A qualified CB signals to manufacturers, retailers, and the public that the CB:
- Operates in compliance with internationally accepted criteria
- Maintains an unbiased commitment and adherence to rigorous auditing standards
- Commits to performing necessary evaluations in an impartial manner
These CBs are dedicated to the highest degrees of integrity and professionalism. They only assign highly qualified auditors with science-based degrees and post-qualification experience. Not only must their auditors meet stringent qualifications, but they must also complete ongoing training. Because of this level of rigor, certification audits completed by these CBs carry a high level of authority and trust.
Authorized Certification Bodies With BeVeg
Becoming a fully approved CB to the BeVeg Vegan certification program is a significant undertaking – one that can take up to a year to complete. During this process, the new CB must meet certain requirements and conduct audits in order to become fully approved and accredited. These requirements include:
- The CB must have an active application for accreditation and must be against ISO/IEC 17065 requirements and with an approved IAF MRA accreditation body.
- The CB’s auditors and technical reviewers must have the experience and qualifications in the relevant product categories specified by the BeVeg standard.
- Auditors and Technical Reviewers must successfully complete all required BeVeg training.
- A contract must be in place with BeVeg, and all other contracted requirements must be met (aside from the accreditation requirement, which will still be in process).
- The CB must show the acceptability of their audit reports.
Once these requirements are met, the CB is then authorized to perform certification audits in order to receive accreditation.