CCOF spends many hours investigating complaints and following up on residue results from third parties, such as the USDA, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, or others. In most cases, the origin of the issue is a misunderstanding or a minor mistake, or the issue cannot be validated. In other cases, the violations of standards, failure to follow an operation’s OSP, or other practices are found. These investigative inspections, testing, review, and other processes make delivering fast and effective services to all certified members difficult.
Effective September 2017, when CCOF Certification Services performs an investigation and identifies noncompliance(s), we may bill for the associated costs of the investigation, including inspection(s). The costs recovered are based on the amount of time it took to conduct the investigation. This helps maintain low fees for all CCOF operations that remain in compliance. Please see the Certification Services Manual for details.
Operations that disagree with the determination may request mediation or appeal and include cost recovery fees in their request. We encourage operations to help us with investigations and follow up so costs are reduced for everyone.