ISO Certificate

ISO 9001:2015, ISO 22000:2005 is an internationally recognized certification which ensures quality of products and services & food safety management of a company.

In this regard, a company requires doing audition of its processes periodically. Regular process audits and as-needed audits, when done correctly, provide the objective feedback needed to correct any deviations from the quality path and keep the company focused on its goals.

On the other hand, clients need to be assured of ISO certificates authenticity which we are going to explain the processes in this article.

 The process of certification

The process for how certification works goes like this: the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) issues a standard, and an organization will implement the standard. The organization will hire a certification body (CB)to audit their system and issue an accredited certificate that the system meets the standard requirements. In order to be allowed to do this, the certification body needs to be accredited by the national accreditation body (AB) who monitors their work. In turn, the national accreditation body must be authorized by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

How to Verify the ISO Certification

Companies and organizations meeting specific quality management standards can seek certification from the International Organization for Standardization, or ISO. This is an official acknowledgement by an approved body that your company has implemented and is working according to a strict set of standards and instructions to guarantee quality in all aspects of work. If you are considering doing business with a company but first want to be sure they are ISO-certified, you can verify this yourself. A company claiming to be ISO-certified should be able to produce official documentation to prove this status, but you can also verify the claim by requesting confirmation directly from the certifying organization. Here are some ways:

1. Ask the company’s managers to show you the documentation they received from the certifying body’s registrar proving the company is ISO-certified. The certificate should show the name of the registrar who issued the certificate. If the registrar is accredited, the stamp or seal of the accreditation agency should also be present. Make sure the certificate is still current.
2. Contact the registrar listed on the certificate. Ask him to review his list of certifications and verify for you that the company you’re interested in is on his list of current certifications. You might request that he send you written verification.
3. Go to the registrar’s online list of ISO-certified companies. Perform a search with terms such as “ISO registrars” to find the specific registrar listed on the company’s documentation. Every company the registrar has certified should be listed on his website.

Each certificate should include the registration/certification number, the name of the certification body and the name of the accreditation body. If there is no certification or accreditation body, then the certificate is definitely false. If there are certification and accreditation bodies identified, then you can start the process of looking to find out if the certification body is properly accredited. The way to do this is as follows:

1. Look at the list of accreditations bodies from the IAF. To do this go to http://www.iaf.nu/articles/IAF_Members__Signatories/4and choose the country or area the supplier is from. This will list the approved national accreditation bodies for that country. For example: For the IRAN, the list includes the National Accreditation Center of Iran (NACI). You can link to the accreditation board (AB) from this website.
2. Under the accreditation board (AB) search for the name of the certification body (CB) identified on the certificate. From the NACI website (http://naciportal.isiri.gov.ir).You can find the web page to search for a certification body.
3. You can find the name of our company (Toos Yekta Taher Agroindusterial) or any other Iranian company in list of certified company in the website.
4. The other way is to check certification body (CB) which named SGS.

In SGS website https://www.sgs.com/en/certified-clients-and-products/certified-client-directory , to verify the status of a certificate that a company holds, simply enter the certification ID number then you can find the company name as a certified company.

Finally, if the above mentioned methods do not lead you to a result, you can email directly to the ISO Exporter which its name is on the ISO certificate, like SGS Company and you can verify the authenticity of the ISO certificate by emailing SGS Company.

“Don’t forget”:

1. Only registrars are allowed to give ISO certificates. An organization cannot self-grant a certificate. So, look for the name of the registrar.
2. Look for the name of the accreditation body (e.g., ANAB, NACI, etc.). If you see a stamp from an accreditation body, you can find out if this accreditation body is a member of the International Accreditation Forum(IAF). If there is no stamp from an accreditation body on the certificate then you should be suspicious as to whether the registrar is competent to audit. A registrar may opt to not seek accreditation, but that may or may not be an indication of their ability and competency. 
3. If there is a registrar name on the certificate, the quickest way to find out if the certificate is valid is to call the registrar directly and ask them to verify that they have issued such a certificate. Explain to their registrar what you are trying to do and they should be able to put you in touch with the specific department that can help with you with such situations.
4. If you have some time and access to the internet, you can actually go to the registrar web site directly and look for a list of their clients. An easy Google search could use the search words: ISO 9001 registrar.

Source: Researched by “Taher Agroindustrial Group”