Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS)

JAS is the abbreviation for “Japanese Agricultural Standard”, which includes organic food and farming standards for Japan. Australian Certified Organic was the first certification body to become JAS accredited within Australia and has the majority of JAS clients within Australia.

ACO is also accredited to certify to the JAS organic livestock and livestock feed standards.

The JAS mark is required for export of all products covered under the JAS organic standards, except the importer already carries JAS certification (agricultural and processed products only). A list of JAS certified Japanese importers can be obtained here.

The main categories of certification under JAS are quite similar to ACO. Categories differ depending on whether a product or ingredient is unprocessed or processed, and the stage at which the product is packaged for sale to Japan.

Products that are exempt from the JAS scope and do not require JAS certification include personal care products, honey, aquaculture and alcoholic beverages.

The following list includes links to download more information for each JAS category:

Agricultural Producer / Grower

• Japanese Agricultural Standard for Organic Products of Plant Origin (Public Notice of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries No. 1605 of October 27, 2005)
• Technical Criteria for Organic Plants and Organic Feeds (Notification No.1830 of 2018)

Processor / Manufacturer

• Japanese Agricultural Standard for Organic Processed Foods (Joint Public Notice No. 18 of 2022)
• Technical Criteria for Organic Processed Foods and Organic Feeds (Notification No. 1831 of 2018)

Livestock Producer / Grower / Abattoir

• Japanese Agricultural Standard for Organic Livestock Products (Notification No.1608 of 2018)
• Technical Criteria for Organic Livestock Products (Notification No. 1832 of 2018)

Producer & Processors of Organic Animal Feeds

• Japanese Agricultural Standard for Organic Feeds(Notification No. 1607 of 2018)
• Technical Criteria for Organic Plants and Organic Feeds(Notification No.1830 of 2018)
• Technical Criteria for Organic Processed Foods and Organic Feeds (Notification No. 1831 of 2018)

Repacker / Relabeller / Sub-Divider

• Technical Criteria for Re-packers of Organic Plants, Organic Processed Foods, Organic Feeds and Organic Livestock Products (Notification No.1833 of 2018)

For more information on JAS please check the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) website here

Certification process

The JAS certification system is very similar to the system used to certify ACO clients. In addition to your current ACO certification, to apply for JAS you need to submit the information and follow the process outlined below:

• Complete JAS Application form: Producer/Processors/Feed/Repackers or Livestock
• Attend JAS training course. When formally applying for JAS certification you will need to identify an individual who will be responsible for Quality Management Operations (the Production Process Manager – PPM) and an individual who will be responsible for Grading (Grading Manager). These key individuals will need to have completed a JAS training course which is mandatory to JAS certification and needs to be prearranged with ACO.
• Complete the following documents provided by ACO:

1. Operation ChecklistUpdate your Organic Management Plan including JAS procedures
2. Grading Manual. Grading is essentially an internal auditing process that is implemented prior to the application of the JAS logo.
3. Submit Ingredient Declaration for specific JAS products (if required)
4. Submit other relevant documents (e.g. Current certificate for organic ingredients – if processed products)

• All documents are review by ACO
• On-site audit allocated & audit conducted at operation premises
• Certification Review Committee (CRC) review (Audit report reviewed by appointed reviewer)
• Licence Agreement issued
• Certificate issued (original JAS certificates are only issued once without an expiry date. Confirmation letter will be issued annually)