World Food Policy
Figure 4: GI control system in Cambodia
Source: Authors’ survey.
organic). No laboratories are accredited the GI association, owing to success-
to carry out analytical tests.
ful domestic and international sales of
The Kampot pepper GI is a per- Kampot pepper.
fect illustration of how a multi-tiered
system can work. It combines: (i)
self-control at the producer/processor
level (each producer/processor verifies
the requirements of the specification
using the “auto check list”); (ii) inspec-
tion of all the members of the GI asso-
ciation by the 18 inspectors working
for the association’s internal control
system; (iii) inspection of 30% of the
producer/processor and of the internal
control system by Ecocert, the certifica-
tion body. In 2014, 20% of the pepper
producers and 100% of the companies
were reinspected by the external body.
The organoleptic characteristics of the
Kampot Pepper GI were verified by a
sensory analysis panel. These checks
showed that 95% of the producers
kept their records properly, and that
only a few needed to improve their re-
cord-keeping. Both the internal and the
external control systems were satisfac-
tory. Certification costs were borne by
The GI certification system in the
Lao PDR is patterned after the French
system. The DIP is the competent au-
thority for official controls. Control of
compliance with the GI specifications
must be carried out by a certification/
control body that is (1) legally regis-
tered or authorized to provide control
or certification activities in Lao PDR
and (2) 17 065-accredited. The certifi-
cation/control body has to send an an-
nual report to the DIP including a list
of certified producers, operators, prod-
ucts, quantities, and measures taken, if
any. This system has not yet been im-
plemented.
Since 2008, the national insti-
tution Lao Certification is in charge of
providing certification services to the
agriculture and food sectors. Currently
it inspects and certifies that producers
and producer groups comply with Lao
national organic standards and national
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