14 September 2009

Administrative Order
No. 22
Series 2009

SUBJECT: Revised Guidelines for the Issuance of National Quality Seal for
Agricultural and Fishery Products
WHEREAS, the State shall enhance the competitiveness of Philippine agriculture and
fishery products in both domestic and foreign markets;

WHEREAS, Section 1 of Republic Act (R.A) 8435 otherwise known as the Agriculture
and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) acknowledges, as one of its objectives, the
enhancement of profits and incomes in the agriculture and fisheries sectors by promoting
higher value crops, value added processing, agribusiness activities, and agro-
industrialization;

WHEREAS, the trade of agricultural and fishery products is an important element of a

country’s growth and development;

WHEREAS, legislative control mechanisms and private sector vigilance are needed in
order to protect the health and safety of consumers;

WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture recognizes the need to promote the

Philippines as a reliable supplier of safe and high quality products both for the export and
domestic markets;

WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture recognizing the importance of a National

Quality Seal Program has established in a previous Administrative Order the rules and
regulations to enhance the competitiveness of local producers, traders and entrepreneurs
in the agriculture and fisheries sector;

WHEREAS, a national consultation has been conducted to gather comments from

concerned stakeholders on the provisions of Administrative Order No. 15 series of 2009
and were substantive;

IN VIEW THEREOF, this Administrative Order replaces Administrative Order No. 15

series of 2009 and sets forth the revised rules and regulations for granting National
Quality Seal to certified producers, traders and entrepreneurs.

SECTION I. SCOPE
This Order prescribes the rules and regulations on the certification of producers and
manufactures in using the National Quality Seal to ensure the safety and quality of fresh,
primary or secondary processed, including processed agricultural and fishery products
regulated by the concerned regulatory agencies of the Department of Agriculture such as
but not limited to coconut, sugar, meat and meat products and fish products.

SECTION II. DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this Order, the following definitions shall apply:

Audit – A systematic and independent examination to determine whether activities and

related results comply with planned objectives ( CAC/GL26-1997)

Applicant – A company, firm or farm that seeks approval to use the National Quality
Seal.

Certification of conformity – a system establishing, after satisfactory process and product

audits, that adequate confidence is provided by a manufacturer that its identified
product meets the requirements of a standard.

Conformity – fulfillment of the requirements of a standard.

Certificate – a document awarded by the Department of Agriculture authorizing the use

of the National Quality Seal.

Fresh Agricultural and Fishery Products – refers to agricultural and fisheries products
newly taken or captured directly from its natural state or habitat; or those
newly harvested or gathered from agricultural areas or bodies of water used
for aquaculture (AFMA, 1997)

Inspection – evaluation of conformity by measuring, observing or testing the relevant

characteristics of a process/product.

Non-Conformity – the non-fulfillment of requirements of a standard

Philippine National Standard (PNS) – the standard promulgated by the Bureau of

Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards (BAPS) as listed in the Bureau of
Product Standards (BPS) inventory relating to product specifications,
terminologies, test methods, standardization procedures, guidelines or
practices

National Quality Seal – mark appearing on a product demonstrating its conformity to a

established Philippine National Standard (PNS)
National Quality Seal Program – a system using the NQS seal as proof of certification
 of conformity to established quality and safety standards.

Primary Processing – refers to the physical alteration of raw agricultural or fishery

products with or without the use of mechanical facilities (AFMA,1997)

Product Recall – a system of retrieving unsafe, sub-standard, or non-conforming products

from the market by an entity.

Secondary Processing – refers to the physical transformation of semi- processed

agricultural or fishery products (AFMA,1997).

SECTION III. OBJECTIVES

The establishment, launching and use of a national quality mark are envisioned to:
1. acknowledge quality excellence of producers, traders and entrepreneurs in the
country;
2. foster market access of quality and safe goods produced in the Philippines;
3. encourage the standardization of products and production systems;
4. promote awareness of consumers on food safety & quality; and
5. enable consumers exercise the option of buying quality agricultural and fisheries
products from traceable and certified sources

SECTION IV. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF

AGRICULTURE

A. Administration
There shall be created and established a Department of Agriculture National Quality
Seal Program Committee composed mainly by the respective regulatory offices of the
DA and working in close coordination with other concerned agencies to ensure that
existing standard procedures for the identification and accreditation of participating
procedures, companies and organizations are followed thereby ensuring good quality
products from the Philippines.

B. Composition of the Committee

A committee is created to spearhead the programs and activities of the National
Quality Seal Program of the Department of Agriculture:

Chairperson Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness and Marketing, DA-

OSEC

Co-chairperson Director, Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product

Standards (BAFPS)

Permanent Director, Agribusiness Marketing Assistance Service

(AMAS)
 Members Director, Food Development Center (FDC)

Director, National Agriculture & Fisheries Council (NAFC)

Representative, Office for Policy and Planning

Representative, Philippine Accreditation Office (PAO)

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

Two (2) Representative, Livestock Sector

Two (2) Representative, Fishery Sector

Two (2) Representative, Crops Sector

One (1) Representative, Consumer Group

Members by Director, Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI)

Invitation
Director, Bureau of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources (BFAR)

Director, Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI)

Administrator, Fiber Industry Development Authority

(FIDA)

Administrator, Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA)

Director, National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS)

Secretariat Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards

(BAFPS)

C. Tasks and Responsibilities of the National Quality Seal Committee

The following shall be the tasks and responsibilities of the National Quality Seal
Committee:

1. recommend to the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture programs,

guidelines and procedures for the implementation of the NQS Program
amendments and or revisions thereof. The Secretary of the Department of
Agriculture is the only authorized body to issue guidelines and procedures,
and their amendments as per recommendation by the Certification
Committee;

2. form an Appeal Committee as deemed necessary;

 3. coordinate with the designated inspection body/ies regarding conformity and
surveillance audits;

4. permanent members shall attend all the deliberations of the NQSC;

5. members represented by the Directors of the regulatory agencies under the

Department of Agriculture shall attend the deliberations of the NQSC only if
the commodity being considered is within their mandate;

6. recommend to the DA Secretary the granting of the NQS to a company, firm

or farm which meets the requirements of a specific standard;

7. specify the rules governing the design and use of the NQS;

8. ensure the registration of the official NQS with the Philippine Patent Office
(PPO);
9. require applicants to submit relevant documents to facilitate timely audit and
determination of compliance with the rules and regulations covered by the
NQS Program;

10. maintain and publish a registry of the following:

a. company, firm or farm permitted to use the NQS
b. recognized and/or identified inspectors authorized to conduct the
conformity assessment audit;

11. ensure confidentiality of all information received and gathered relative to the
application, granting and issuance of the NQS except upon orders of a court
of competent jurisdiction;

12. recommend to the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture on the

decisions regarding the issuance, withdrawal, or cancellation of the seal; and

13. perform other functions as necessary for the implementation of this Order.

D. Secretariat for the NQS Certification Committee

The Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards shall act as the Secretariat
for the activities of the National Quality Seal Program. The NQS Certification
Committee Secretariat shall be designated by the Director of the BAFPS and shall
perform the following functions:

1. provide the application forms to interested applicants;

2. receives all applicants and evaluate the completion of documents;
3. acts as the link between the applicant, inspectors and Certification
Committee
 4. coordinates the field evaluation/inspection of the applicants together with
the inspection team to confirm compliance of the applicant to the
approved criteria;
5. collate the inspection reports and prepare minutes of the Certification
Committee meetings; and
6. perform other related duties as may be designated by the NQS
Certification Committee.

SECTION V. THE NATIONAL QUALITY SEAL

1. The design, including font style/size and colors, of the National Quality Seal
shall be in accordance with the illustration in Annex 1. The NQS affixed on the
product or its package may be enlarged or reduced to an appropriate size,
provided that its dimensions conform to the specifications in Annex 1.

2. The National Quality Seal shall be affixed on the individual package (i.e.plastic,
box) of the product covered by the permit/license. In case marking or stamping
of the NQS on the product package is not possible, the Seal shall appear on the
bulk package of the product.

3. The seal shall only be used on the products found to be in compliance with the
criteria set by the NQS Committee. Any misuse shall be subject to applicable
sanctions as stipulated in the Consumer Act of the Philippines.

SECTION VI. CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE

A. General Provisions
The use of the seal shall take effect from the date of its issue to a company firm or farm
and shall be in full force and effect for a period of one year, subject to a minimum annual
surveillance audit, announced or otherwise. At any time, upon due cause, the license can
be suspended, withdrawn or cancelled.
Any application and the eventual granting of the use of the NQS shall be commodity-
specific/ site specific, and/ or brand specific.

B. Procedure for Application

1. Application for the use of the National Quality Seal may originate from
either voluntary submission of application form and required documents of
company, firm or farm wishing to avail of the NQS or from the
recommendations of DA Regulatory Agencies based on their list of
certified/accredited company, firm or farm. In any other case, the applicant
shall follow the procedure for application set forth hereunder.

2. The application for the use of National Quality Seal shall be made duplicate
 the form obtainable from the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product
Standards, DA Regulatory Agencies, or DA Regional/Provincial Offices.

3. The application shall include an undertaking by the applicant to abide by the

terms and conditions of the seal.

4. The application shall be duly subscribed and sworn to by the applicant, or his
duly authorized management representative, and shall be filed with the
Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards,

5. Separate applications shall be made for products covered by different

standards. Likewise, separate applications shall be filed for same products
but manufactured at different plant sites.

6. The application shall be supported by the information about the company,

firm or farm and its capability to produce, process or manufacture products
consistently conforming to the requirements of a specific standard in the
form of a Quality Manual.

7. Other supporting documents may include: company, firm or farm

organizational profile, Certificate of Registration, and others.

C. Procedure for Inspection

1. The applicant shall make available to the Inspection body or duly designated
representative such information and product samples as may be required for
the evaluation of its application for the NQS, or for its periodic audit of its
quality management system and products.

2. Inspection and audit activities shall be undertaken by the designated

inspectors of the regulatory agencies of Department of Agriculture upon
proper notification from the NQS Secretariat. The inspectors shall prepare
the reports of inspection/audit activities for presentation to the NQS
Committee for their evaluation. The report of inspectors will be used as the
basis for granting NQS to qualified company/ies, firm/s or farm applicant/s.

D. Procedure for Certification

1. After evaluation of the Certification Committee, and if the DA finds that the
applicant conforms to an established PNS for that specific commodity or in
its absence to an internationally existing standard, and meets other
requirements of the license to use the National Quality Seal, the DA Secretary
or his duly designated representative shall approve the application and signs/
issues the corresponding authority for the use of the NQS.

2. Appeal on the decision of the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture or

 his duly designated representative with regard to an Application of the NQS
shall only be filed when there is a reason to believe that the decision
undertaken was lacking or in excess of jurisdiction.

SECTION VII. FEES

Fees pertaining to the filling of application forms be free of charge. However, the
expenses to be incurred by the inspectors of different DA Regulatory Agencies in
carrying out their regular duties pertaining to inspection of establishments and those for
the purpose of granting NQS to qualified applicants shall be chargeable to the regular
funds of their respective agencies.

The cost of certification pertaining to administrative expenses to be incurred by the

Committee during the evaluation of applicants will be shouldered by BAFPS.

SECTION VIII. RENEWAL

At least two (2) months prior to the expiration of the use of the seal, the company, firm or
farm may apply for renewal, otherwise the Committee has to authority to cancel the
certificate.

SECTION IX. TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE USE OF THE SEAL
The following terms and conditions shall be binding to all company, firm or farm that
have been authorized to use the quality seal:

1. The authorized company, firm or farm shall abide by the orders which the DA
issues in pursuance with its authority under law.

2. The license shall ensure that its certified product conforms at all times to a
specific standard and shall be liable for any damage caused by the said product to
consumers, for this purpose, shall maintain to the satisfaction of the DA;

3. The license shall affix the National Quality Seal only on its certified products;

4. The license shall give duly authorized representatives of the DA access during
working hours to the premises where certified product is manufactured or
produced, for the purpose of evaluating materials, production processes, finished
articles, quality assurance facilities, records and other pertinent documents in
accordance with this AO;

5. The license shall be subject to at least once a year audit to ensure consistent
compliance with the DA requirements on the standards and/or the National
Quality Seal Program; and

6. The authority to use the quality seal in non-transferable.

SECTION X. PROHIBITED ACTS

1. The Quality Seal shall not be used on a product or site not covered by the
license and in any misleading manner;

2. The licensee shall not use the quality seal if its license has been suspended,
Withdrawn or canceled for cause;

3. Violation of any of the terms and conditions of the license.

SECTION XI. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE

Should any provision of this Order or any part thereof be declared invalid, the other
provisions, so far as they are separable, shall remain in force and effect.

SECTION XII. EFFECTIVITY

This Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after filling with the University of the
Philippines Law Center.

SO ORDERED.

ATTY. ARTHUR C. YAP

Secretary