Third-Party Product Certification Services

Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA), a government body under Ministry of Agriculture and Forests is mandated to provide product certification services to support the farmers, industries and commerce in Bhutan for market access and trade facilitation.

BAFRA provides certification through BAFRA-CS (Certification Services). BAFRA-CS is accredited by National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), India for ISO/IEC 17065 (Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services).

The NABCB Accreditation Certificate No issued to BAFRA-CS is PC 012 (issued on 19 March 2018, valid till 18 March 2025), available for download here (Accreditation certificate of BAFRA issued  by NABCB)

Under the accredited scope, BAFRA-CS has the following three schemes in operation under product certification:

  1. BAFRA product certification scheme covering food products (including Packaged Drinking Water, Packaged Natural Mineral Water and Fruit Juices)
  2. BAFRA product certification scheme covering organic products
  3. BAFRA product certification scheme covering BhutanGAP products

Benefits of third-party product certification

The benefits of product certification include:

  • Increased consumer confidence as the product has gone through an independent auditing and testing process
  • It helps in reducing the non-conformance in the product to a larger extent
  • The certification mark clearly stands out amongst the competitors giving the product an edge
  • Certification proves product credibility in the market
  • It ensures a consistency in the product quality hence earning reputation
  • Confirms that products and services meet all trusted external and internal national/international standards.

To facilitate trade and promote food safety through product certification, BAFRA is currently providing product certification services for free on gratis.

Kindly visit the following links for more information related to certification:

1. General information on Certification 

  1. BAFRA’s Food Product Certification Scheme
  2. BAFRA’s Organic Certification Scheme 
  3. BAFRA’s BhutanGAP Certification Scheme 
  4. Accreditation certificate of BAFRA issued  by NABCB
  5. Directory of certified clients

2. Product Certification Guidelines

  1. BAFRA-CS: Guidance on use of BAFRA Standard Mark
  2. BAFRA-CS: Procedure for use of License Certificate and Mark of Conformity
  3. BAFRA-CS: Guideline on operation of Certification Committee
  4. BAFRA-CS: Procedure for handling complaints
  5. BAFRA-CS: Procedure for handling appeals
  6. BAFRA-CS: Procedure for termination, reduction, suspension or withdrawal of certification 
  7. BAFRA-CS: Procedure for re-certification/renewal

3. Forms for Third-Party Product Certification 

  1. BAFRA-CS: APPLICATION FORM FOR FOOD PRODUCT CERTIFICATION
  2. BAFRA-CS: INITIAL QUESTIONNAIRE FORM FOR FACTORY ASSESSMENT
  3. BAFRA-CS: APPLICATION FORM FOR BHUTANGAP CERTIFICATION
  4. BAFRA-CS: INITIAL QUESTIONNAIRE FORM FOR BHUTANGAP FARM ASSESSMENT
  5. BAFRA-CS: APPLICATION FORM FOR ORGANIC CERTIFICATION
  6. BAFRA-CS: INITIAL QUESTIONNAIRE FORM FOR ASSESSMENT OF ORGANIC FARM
  7. BAFRA-CS: CERTIFICATION AGREEMENT FORM
  8. BAFRA-CS: REQUEST FORM FOR LAB ANALYSIS
  9. BAFRA-CS: APPLICATION FORM FOR LABORATORY RECOGNITION
  10. BAFRA-CS: FORM FOR FEEDBACK FROM THE CLIENT
  11. BAFRA-CS: APPLICATION FORM FOR RENEWAL OF CERTIFICATION

4. Additional Information on Certification (for interested clients)

  1. BAFRA-CS: Simplified Process flow – Food Product Certification
  2. BAFRA-CS: Guideline for clients on Food Product Certification
  3. BAFRA-CS: Guidance for clients enquiring about product certification
  4. Simple Guide on Third Party Organic Certification Process
  5. Product certification information brochure