Vegan and Vegetarian Product Certification
Vegan certification verifies under the applicable standard that no animal-origin raw materials, ingredients, processing aids or additives are used at any stage of obtaining and processing the product.
What Is a Vegan Product?
Animal-derived substances are excluded from the vegan scope. This also covers other animal-husbandry products and products from animals that have not been slaughtered or subjected to abuse. Unlike organic certification based on public legislation, this is a voluntary programme assessed against defined technical criteria.
Who Can Apply?
- Agriculture and food producers
- Hotels, restaurants and catering businesses (HoReCa)
- Cosmetics and personal-care manufacturers
- Cleaning-product manufacturers
- Textile and clothing businesses
The Value of Certification
Ingredient origin is not always clear from a label. Independent certification assesses formulations, suppliers, production and traceability records together, supporting a verifiable product claim beyond the business’s own declaration.
Application Information
Submit the application and attachments together with a company technical document defining the scope. It should describe:
- Products
- Recipes or formulations
- Finished-product specifications
- Intended use
- Raw materials and semi-finished products
- Suppliers
- Manufacturing processes
- Identification and traceability
- Control plan
- Nonconformity management and complaints
Inspection and Certification
Document review is followed by planned inspections at manufacturing facilities and, where necessary, suppliers of semi-finished or finished products. Production lines, cleaning, cross-contamination controls and product claims are assessed.
Sampling and laboratory analysis may be used where needed to verify the absence of animal-origin materials. Under the CCPB srl programme, relevant tests are performed by laboratories in Italy accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for the applicable analyses. Following review of nonconformities, an independent certification decision is made and surveillance continues.
How Vegetarian Criteria Differ
Vegetarian and vegan criteria are not identical. Vegetarian products are assessed separately against the applicable programme’s rules for animal-derived ingredients. Vegetarian certification does not automatically establish vegan conformity.
The applicable programme, product and operational scope, and current authorisations are confirmed during application.
