All organic products exported to the European Union or Switzerland must be accompanied by an official Certificate of Inspection (COI) issued in the EU Trade Control and Expert System online platform TRACES. CCOF has created a new TRACES COI Request Instructions document to explain the COI request process and the TRACES system, available on our website for your reference.
Per EU regulation 2021/2306, the Certificate of Inspection (COI) must be authorized by CCOF before the shipment leaves the United States or Canada. Consignments that depart before obtaining an authorized COI will be denied entry or will have their organic status removed by the EU or Swiss border control authorities.
To ensure product traceability and that the shipment has not left the country of port prior to authorization, CCOF requires the following information for all COI requests:
- Upload at least one of the following supporting documents to the COI to confirm product traceability and identify the product as organic:
- commercial invoice or
- packing list
- Provide the estimated shipping date and confirmation that the shipment has not left the country of port by doing one of the following:
- Upload booking confirmation to the COI, or
- upload draft air/sea waybill to the COI, or
- if these documents are not available, email export@ccof.org with the draft COI number and the estimated shipment date.
Effective immediately, COI Requests that do not contain this information will not be approved. If your shipment has left port without authorization, CCOF is unable to sign the COI.
Please review the TRACES COI Request Instructions and contact export@ccof.org if you have additional questions