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LEAF Marque Chain of Custody

LEAF Marque Chain of Custody system (This will take over from the Warranty Chain Agreement) is a mechanism for tracking LEAF Marque certified product from certified farms to the final consumer product.  The aim of the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody is to ensure that the credibility and integrity of all LEAF Marque supply chains are maintained which will help participating farms, businesses and consumers to trust the LEAF Marque logo and any claims made. 

The acquisition of a LEAF Marque Chain of Custody certificate and number reinforces the sustainability commitments of businesses. It provides companies with a commercial advantage as it allows them to use the LEAF Marque logo on products, making them the preferred choice especially for responsible businesses and consumers.

It is an essential part of the LEAF Marque assurance system, it will ensure that the use of the LEAF Marque logo and marketing claims about products originating from LEAF Marque certified farms are credible and verifiable throughout the whole supply chain. It is used to approve and verify sites all along the food and agricultural products value chain.  The system works at product (SKU) level and tracks movement from site to site.

If you need access to the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody please email support@leafchainofcustody.org

How does it work?

The LEAF Marque Chain of Custody allows all the sites that handle LEAF Marque certified products in the supply chain to be mapped.  Farmers declare what they produce and buyers and processors declare their ingredients in manufactured products and their suppliers.  Further along the supply chain, distributors, traders and retailers declare their suppliers.  Beginning with farmers there is then automatic and independent confirmation that all products in the chain have come from approved sources. LEAF Marque buyers and sellers are able to request revisions of trading relationships and transaction details; these are recorded in a timeline of events with each trading relationship or transaction record.

Secure trading relationships

The LEAF Marque Chain of Custody has been built with a secure and explicit two-way confidential sharing system. This means that information is only shared explicitly between adjacent levels in the supply chain. In other words it’s based on a customer / supplier trading relationship that has been positively confirmed.  This gives the ability to map the supply chain in its entirety as well as keep information confidential between those who trade in LEAF Marque certified raw materials and products.

Manufacturing process

Manufacturers and processors define manufactured or processed products by adding ingredients from LEAF Marque certified ingredients and non-certified ingredients then declaring the % by weight of the total of each ingredient, and then a conversion ratio is added allowing for waste or by-products.  This process is then approved by LEAF to allow the LEAF Marque logo to be used dependent on the % of ingredients that are LEAF Marque certified.  Please refer to the full guidelines for the use of the LEAF Marque logo (to be developed).

Products available to the market (Output Products)

At site level farms and businesses declare their products for sale and these are made visible to the buyers whom they trade with. Products are either selected by the user from crops grown / livestock reared, products purchased or products manufactured or processed.  These are then tagged as output products available to be selected by buyers.

Approval for the use of the LEAF Marque logo and marketing claims

The LEAF Marque Chain of Custody is used to manage the licensing of the LEAF Marque logo and marketing claims, using a packaging approval process and then by tracking volumes throughout supply chains.  The application approval process can only start once an output product is defined.  The process includes a comprehensive questionnaire to enable LEAF to approve the use of the LEAF Marque logo and or any marketing claim associated with a product.  The system allows the applicant to upload packaging artwork and images for approval.  LEAF Marque logo approval will be based on the completion of all these steps by the applicant in the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody system.

LEAF Marque Chain of Custody Standard

The LEAF Marque Chain of Custody Standard is part of the approval process for the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody and sets out the requirements for site operators and quality managers to ensure full traceability and integrity of LEAF Marque certified products and materials from receipt, manufacture and despatch.  The Standard is currently based on self-assessment and is risk based in its approach. The self-assessment is an annual audit that allows LEAF to set the approval status of the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody for the site.  LEAF may require an independent site inspection at sites deemed to be high risk, at the site owners cost, to ensure that the required level of traceability is credible and maintained.

If you would like further information about the Chain of Custody including costs please contact LEAF using the form below.

Your Email Address

Traceability level

The LEAF Marque logo rules define four levels of traceability that can be used i.e. Identity Preserved (IP), Segregation(SG), Controlled Mixing(CM) and Mass Balance(MB). The LEAF Marque Chain of Custody facilitates the adherence to all these levels of traceability and operates a mass balance recording system for all LEAF Marque assured transactions and outputs. Traded volumes (by weight) of LEAF Marque certified products within supply chains are recorded on the system at each site. Transactions are confirmed between the buyer and seller through automated mailing.  The system enables site operators to declare retail quantities of product sold with the LEAF Marque logo and or claims made.  Any noticeable discrepancies will trigger LEAF to request an independent inspection to the relevant sites at the site owners cost.

Access requirements and cost

Access to the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody is by invitation initially.  Each business within the LEAF Marque chain must be a member of “LEAF The Charity” based on their appropriate membership category.  You can access The LEAF Marque Chain of Custody through MyLEAF, LEAF Marque certified farms can register for access using their myLEAF username and password and register their site and start using the service.  Buyers, sellers, packers, processors and manufacturers need to gain access by request using the form below.

LEAF Marque certified farms are automatically enrolled into the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody.  They have the basic processes available (crops grown/ livestock reared, confirming trading relationships with customers, output products, licence approval for the LEAF Marque logo and the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody Standard audit) which are free of charge.  If the farm buys either LEAF Marque certified or other non-LEAF Marque certified products from farms or manufacturers or processes their own products for further sale then they must upgrade to a full Chain of Custody subscription and complete the trading relationships with suppliers and gain approval for manufactured products. The annual charge for a farm business will be £475.00 (as September 2015).

All other businesses will pay the following rates based on the number of fulltime equivalent employees and regardless of the number of sites. (As November 2014)

Annual Subscription Rates for LEAF Marque Chain of Custody (based on each legal entity)

(50 employees or less)  £475.00
(51 - 100 employees)  £575.00
(101 - 200 employees)      £775.00
(201+ employees)  £975.00

Farm production sites that buy and pack, process and third party store LEAF Marque produce      £475

Invoicing

The subscribing business will be invoiced by LEAF Marque Ltd on the completion and approval of the annual LEAF Marque Chain of Custody standard audit.

Additional Users

Access to the site’s LEAF Marque Chain of Custody can be by more than one user for the different functions (e.g. quality manager needs access for the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody Standard and the buyer needs to confirm the transaction records).  Additional users can gain access by requesting to be an additional user for a site that is registered in the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody.  Users who registered the site initially need to approve the access requests and they can also authorise other users to be the primary user.

Recognition

The LEAF Marque Chain of Custody system will generate a certificate and unique number for the site once all processes have been approved, this will available as a pdf.  Each product approved will also carry a certificate and unique number that can be used on pack (LEAF Marque Chain of Custody number (ChoC No.XXXXX)).  In addition LEAF will send out a presentation plaque to all full license holders (excludes growers only sites) for the site to display to show that it is approved to buy and sell LEAF Marque certified products and use the LEAF Marque logo.

Chain of Custody documents

LEAF Marque Chain of Custody Self Assessment v1.0 - Downloadable Copy A

This downloadable copy of the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody Self Assessment v1.0 is applicable to businesses that grow crops and/or rear animals on this site and do not buy, process, manufacture or mix LEAF Marque produce and are not making a LEAF Marque claim.

LEAF Marque Chain of Custody Self Assessment v1.0 - Downloadable Copy B

This downloadable copy of the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody Self Assessment v1.0 is applicable to businesses that do not grow crops and/or rear animals on this site and/or businesses that buy, process, manufacture or mix LEAF Marque produce and/or are making a LEAF Marque claim.

LEAF Marque Chain of Custody Licence Application- Downloadable Copy

This downloadable copy of the LEAF Marque Chain of Custody Licence Aplication is applicable to businesses where a LEAF Marque claim is made.