37.2—Services.
Organic certifying agencies requesting assessment services under this part shall conform to the provisions of the regulations and the requirements of International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) Guide 65—General Requirements for Bodies Operating Product Certification Systems, Ref. No. ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996, or other internationally recognized guidelines or requirements. The Director of the Federal Register approves the incorporation by reference of ISO/IEC Guide 65 in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. You may obtain a copy from the American National Standards Institute, 11 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036. You may inspect a copy at USDA, AMS, LSP, MGCB; STOP 0248, Room 2628-S; 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-0248 or at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html.
(1)
Review of the adequacy of an applicant's quality manual against the requirements of ISO Guide 65; and
(2)
Onsite auditing of an applicant's organic certification program to ensure implementation of the provisions of the quality manual and the applicant's compliance with the requirements of ISO Guide 65.
(b)
Organic certifying agencies also may request assessment services under other international recognized guidelines or requirements. Developmental assistance in the form of training to explain requirements for quality system assessment is available upon request.