TS EN ISO 34101-4

TS EN ISO 34101-4 addresses how certification schemes for sustainable and traceable cocoa are structured. It sets requirements for the scheme used to certify cocoa bean producing organizations and cocoa supply chain actors, so that sustainability and traceability claims can be assessed in a consistent way.

What a certification scheme is meant to control

This part is concerned with the design of the certification system rather than with farming practice alone. In general technical terms, a certification scheme brings together the rules for application, assessment, surveillance, decision-making, record handling, and the verification of traceability along the chain. That distinction matters in cocoa because production sites, buying points, processors, traders, and other supply chain actors may each hold different evidence and perform different control functions.

How it is intended to be used with the other ISO 34101 parts

The document is stated to be used jointly with ISO 34101-1, ISO 34101-2 and/or ISO 34101-3. In other words, Part 4 is not a stand-alone production specification; it defines the requirements for the certification arrangement within the broader sustainable and traceable cocoa framework. Separating the scheme rules from the production and chain requirements helps create a more consistent conformity assessment process for both cocoa bean producing organizations and supply chain actors.

• Intended for certification of cocoa bean producing organizations.
• Also covers certification of cocoa supply chain actors.
• Focuses on the scheme that evaluates sustainability and traceability claims.
• Used together with ISO 34101-1, ISO 34101-2 and/or ISO 34101-3.