Important updates for those exporting or importing organic products
We are aware of certificate issues relating to the import and export of organic product
1. Known EU TRACES NT operator issues affecting GB based exports to the EU
We are aware of a current and ongoing system issue with the TRACES NT portal which has caused some operator accounts to be suspended.
The update for operators to be listed as organic export, organic preparation, organic production, organic storing, organic distribution/ placing on the market, organic import, per EU 2018/848 regulations which took place on 16.10.2025. This now effects all operators globally.
You may experience issues with selecting your operator, processor, producer, importer and first consignee accounts on a Certificate of Inspection (COI). If this should happen please contact the certifying body responsible for the operator and request that they update the account to one of the above activities, highlighted. We are working to update all certified accounts; if you should experience any issues, please contact coi@soilassociation.org.
Please note that if you are trying to select the account from your ‘favourites’ list using the star icon on the COI, this will not pull the updated account through. You will now have to manually search for the operator by using the ‘search’ or ‘edit’ function in the required field. All saved operators under your starred list will now have to be deleted and re-selected as your saved operators. This will also apply if you choose to ‘copy as new’ a previous COI. Please contact coi@soilassociation.org if you would like additional guidance on these steps.
(Please ensure your COI has been endorsed on the TRACES NT portal, before you export your products out of GB. We are unable to endorse the certificate once the goods have left - this may lead to your products losing organic status or being returned to GB).
2. Issue with EU certification bodies not recognising UK certificates
We have been made aware of instances where EU certifiers have questioned the validity of certification provided by GB suppliers. This seems to be limited at this time to material intended to be used in non-regulated products (e.g. cosmetics). Where the material is certified to UK regulation, we recommend using the following wording to clarify status of certification with the certifier who has raised the query:
‘Organic products certified in GB are certified to the GB organic regulation, retained EC regulation 834/2007 and 889/2008.
GB is recognised under Article 47 of 2018/848, also refer to article 45.1 (b)(ii). This means the GB regulation has been accepted as equivalent to 2018/848 and product certified to GB regulation is eligible for export to the EU with a valid COI issued in TRACES. There is no requirement for products certified in GB to be certified to 2018/848. Products certified to the GB regulation 834/2007 may be placed on the EU market.’
3. Issues with GB Certificates of Inspection template affecting exporters based in non-EU countries exporting to the UK
Having moved from certification against EC 834/2007 (or certification to an equivalent standard), to certification in compliance with ECU 2018/848, we are aware that some certification bodies in non-EU countries may now be unwilling to endorse GB COI. The issue relates to the GB COI template document only providing the option to confirm the consignment's compliance with (retained) regulation EC 834/2007.
Defra have confirmed that they are in communication with Third Country control bodies (CBs) recognised by the UK, asking that they continue to complete the Article 33(3) tick box in box 2.