Know more about the Independent Organizations
4.1 Definition
Independent Organizations are companies approved by the Eleven Rivers Board of Directors; they are independent from the Association, the growers and the Mexican government; they are specialized in developing diagnosis, accrediting, certifying, verifying, among other functions.
These independent Organizations sign a confidentiality agreement with the Civil Association: the purpose is protecting the information shared by participating growers.
4.2 Operational Regulations
The operational regulations describe the general conditions for the operation and approval of the independent organizations participating in the Eleven Rivers program.
Through this documentary support, the Civil Association manages the Eleven Rivers distinctive badge that ensures the ongoing compliance of growers and the technical operation of Eleven Rivers EC11R Certification Scheme.
4.3 Classification
The independent Organizations are classified in:
- Independent Advisory Organization: Among the services that they can provide are the diagnosis as first step to incorporation of Participating growers, they may also develop implementation and training programs.
- Independent Certification Organization: These are accredited entities for EC11R, according to the ISO/IEC 17065:2012 (or equivalent) regulation or are in process of accreditation by Entidad Mexicana de Acreditación (EMA) and they certify other schemes recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).
- Independent Verification Organization: These are type “A” or “C” accreditation entities for EC11R according to the ISO/IEC 17020:2012 (or equivalent) regulation, or are in process of accreditation by the EMA, they carry out the ongoing review of Participating growers and point out the corrective actions to maintain the certification level.