QAI VP to Speak at 2008 Natural Beauty Summit America

New York, NY (April 11th, 2008) Joe Smillie, Quality Assurance International (QAI) Senior Vice President, will discuss American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) consensus standards development process on Thursday, May 15, 2008, from 3:50 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel in New York, NY. (Read more...)

QAI Appoints New General Manager

San Diego, Calif. (January 29th, 2008) Quality Assurance International (QAI), the global leader in organic certification services, today announced the promotion of Jaclyn Bowen to General Manager.
In her new position, Bowen is responsible for the operation and expansion of QAI’s certification programs. This includes implementing new business initiatives, while ensuring compliance with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) regulations. (Read more...)

QAI Responds to False Claims of the Cornucopia Institute

San Diego, Calif. (September 18th, 2007) The Cornucopia Institute has improperly and wrongfully impugned the certification practices of Quality Assurance International, Inc. (“QAI”) based solely on certification decisions made by a different accredited certifier. Contrary to the spin asserted by the Cornucopia Institute, QAI has not been accused of any wrongdoing by the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) Agriculture Marketing Service (“AMS”), and there is no suggestion by the USDA that QAI did anything wrong in its certification activities. (Read more...)

QAI Appoints Sue Baird as New Technical Manager

San Diego, Calif. (March 12th, 2007) Quality Assurance International, Inc. (QAI, Inc.), the global leader in organic certification services, today announced the appointment of Sue Baird as its new technical manager. (Read more...)

QAI Staff Receives Marie Kelso Memorial Award

San Diego, Calif. (September 19th, 2006) PMCA, an international non-profit trade association of confectionary companies, has awarded Quality Assurance International (QAI) staff the tenth Marie Kelso Memorial Award. (Read more...)

Quality Assurance International Surpasses Milestone, Certifying More Than a Quarter of a Million Organic Products

San Diego, Calif. (March 23rd, 2006) Quality Assurance International, Inc. (QAI, Inc.), the global leader in organic certification services, announced today that it surpassed a company milestone by certifying 259,608 products. (Read more...)

Organic To Go First Fast-Casual Restaurant to Receive Organic Certification

Los Angeles, Calif. (February 15th, 2006) Organic to Go™ (O to Go) an all-natural and organic café and corporate meal delivery service, is the first fast-casual restaurant and retailer to receive organic certification by Quality Assurance International (QAI), the leading third-party certification agency in the organic foods industry accredited to the National Organic Program by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). QAI has certified brand name retailers such as, Lund's Byerly, Cub Foods, Native Sun, Sunflower Market, Capers Wild Oats and Whole Foods Markets. (Read more...)

Capers becomes first certified organic grocer in Western Canada

Vancouver, B.C. (February 1st, 2006) Capers Community Markets, a leading Canadian natural and organic foods retailer based in Vancouver, B.C., announced today that it is the first company in Western Canada to be designated a certified organic retailer by Quality Assurance International (QAI). (Read more...)

USDA Appoints QAI Senior Vice President to National Organic Standards Board

San Diego, Calif. (December 7th, 2005) Quality Assurance International, Inc (QAI, Inc), the leading global organic certifier, proudly announced today the USDA appointment of Joe Smillie, Sr. Vice President to the department’s 15 member National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). Smillie will take his seat on the Board as the Certifier Member Representative on January 24th, 2006, in addition to continuing his current role with QAI. (Read more...)

International Experts Tackle Sustainability Issues in Floral Sector
Announce New American National Standard Initiative

San Francisco, Calif. (June 3rd, 2005) “Flower Power” took on a whole new meaning Friday as an international panel of experts gathered to discuss advances in addressing environmental and social issues in the floral industry, and to launch a new American eco-label for sustainably produced floral products. (Read more...)

Cub Foods Awarded Organic Retailer Certification

Stillwater, Minn. (May 2nd, 2005) Cub Foods announced today that it has been awarded organic retailer certification by Quality Assurance International (QAI), the global leader in organic certification services. Cub‘s certification as an organic retailer comes after two years of preparation and is awarded for following strict USDA standards and procedures governing organic foods. The certification applies to all 66 Cub West stores. (Read more...)

Joe Smillie to Receive Special Organic Pioneer Award
Organic Leader will be honored at Industry Banquet

San Diego, Calif. (April 28th, 2005) Joe Smillie, Senior Vice President of Quality Assurance International (QAI), is slated to receive the 2005 Organic Leadership Award for Special Pioneer from the Organic Trade Association (OTA) at this year’s All Things Organic Trade Show and Conference in Chicago. The award will be presented on Monday night, May 2nd, at the annual OTA Dinner and Awards Ceremony. (Read more...)

Independent Shelf Survey Shows QAI Dominant Organic Certifier in US

San Diego, Calif. (March 17th, 2005) According to a recently released independent shelf study, 65% of certified organic products found on U.S. store shelves are certified by QAI. The study, entitled “Market Retail Study, 2005” was conducted by marketing research firm Treger Consulting. The study focused on mainstream grocery stores and natural food stores located in the Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast and Midwest. Over six thousand certified organic products were surveyed. (Read more...)

Quality Assurance International Appoints David Abney Vice President and General Manager

San Diego, Calif. (March 10th, 2005) Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), an NSF International company, today announced the appointment of David Abney (photo) to vice president and general manager. (Read more...)

Global Leaders in Certification Announce Partnership to Offer ‘Bundled’ Organic and non-GMO Programs

San Diego, Calif. (March 8th, 2005) Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), the global leader in organic certification services and CERT ID (“CID”), the world leader in non-GMO certification today announced a joining of forces to offer organic and non-GMO certifications to food companies. The strategic collaboration of these two industry leaders will create an opportunity for companies to meet the demands for both organic and non-GMO certification, thus expanding their presence in the global food marketplace. (Read more...)

NSF Hosts Exploratory Meeting to Kick Off Development of New Standard for Organic Personal Care Products

Ann Arbor, Mich. (August 16th, 2004) NSF International is pleased to announce the initial development of a new organic personal care product standard. This standard will define the requirements necessary for a personal care product to make an organic label claim. The standard will be developed by a committee having a balanced representation of interested members from industry, regulatory and user sectors. The committee will be formed at the exploratory meeting. (Read more...)

Find out how the NSF International Organic Personal Care Standard Exploratory Meeting went.

QAI and NSF Announce New Appointments
Strengthens Core Business with Expanded Customer Base in New Markets

San Diego, Calif. & Ann Arbor, Mich. (May 18th, 2004) Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), the global leader in organic certification, announced new staff appointments that will help the organization meet the growing needs of the organic product certification industry. The new QAI appointments include Kristen L. Holt (photo) as president and David Abney (photo) as director of certification services. (Read more...)

NSF International Acquires Quality Assurance International
Acquisition Expands QAI Reach Into New Global Markets

Ann Arbor, Mich. & San Diego, Calif. (March 3rd, 2004) NSF International (NSF), an independent, not-for-profit leader in public health and safety risk management solutions, today announced the acquisition of Quality Assurance International, Inc. (QAI, Inc.), the global leader in organic certification. (Read more...)

QAI Launches New Food Security Program

San Diego, Calif. (November 17th, 2003) Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), global leader in certification services, announced today the launch of its new Food Security Program. QAI’s program effectively responds to the requirements of the FDA Bioterrorism Regulations and offers planning strategies that go beyond compliance in crisis prevention and management, food security plans, and food security audits. (Read more...)

‘Organic’ Takes Center Stage At Farm Aid 2003

Columbus, Ohio (September 10th, 2003) From the mid-morning press conference, to the impassioned remarks of the most well known of Farm Aid Board members, to the onstage check presentation by a leading organic firm and title sponsor, to the comments by many of the concert’s musicians, to QAI’s Certified Organic World Tent, ‘Organic’ was indeed in the spotlight at this year’s Farm Aid event.
(Read more...)

Tree of Life, Inc. Receives Organic Certification from Quality Assurance International, Inc.

St. Augustine, Fla. (September 4th, 2003) Tree of Life, Inc. announced today that it has achieved "certified organic" status under the U. S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program for all of its operations in the United States. "Certified Organic" status means that products labeled organic have been verified by a USDA-accredited third party to meet strictly defined organic standards. With this certification, which was verified by Quality Assurance International, Inc. (QAI), a global leader in organic certification, Tree of Life becomes the nation's largest certified organic distributor. (Read more...)

QAI Presents ‘CERTIFIED ORGANIC WORLD’ at FARM AID 2003

San Diego, Calif (September 4th, 2003) Farm Aid this year is showcasing “QAI’s Certified Organic World,” a tent dedicated to educating the 20,000 concert attendees about certified organic products and to bring attention and support to family farmers. (Read more...)

QAI Clients Invited to Participate in Special Farm Aid Sponsorship

San Diego, Calif (July 8th, 2003) QAI and Farm Aid have teamed up again this year to show support for America's Family Farmers and promote certified organic awareness. QAI clients are invited to participate in sponsoring the concert event this year! (Read more...)

QAI Certifies Whole Foods Market® First National Certified Organic Grocer

San Diego, Calif (June 12th, 2003) Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), global leader in organic certification services, applauded today the successful efforts of Whole Foods Market® in earning QAI Organic Certification for Retailers. (Read more...)

Quality Assurance International Earns IFOAM Accreditation

Nürnberg, Germany (February 14th, 2003) Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), a global leader in organic certification services, announced today its accreditation by IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements), the international organic accreditation program operated by the International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS). The announcement was made at BioFach 2003 currently being held in Nürnberg, Germany. (Read more...)

QAI Launches Organic Certification Program for Retailers

Washington, D.C. (October 4th, 2002) Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), global leader in organic certification services, announced today the launch of its new organic certification program for retailers. The announcement was made at the Natural Products Expo East (www.naturalproductexpo.com) currently being held in Washington, D.C. (Read more...)

Quality Assurance International (QAI,Inc.) Sponsors Farm Aid 2002

San Diego, Calif. (September 19th, 2002) Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), global leader in organic certification services, is pleased to announce its participation as sponsor of Farm Aid 2002, scheduled for September 21st at the Post Gazette Pavilion in Burgettstown, PA. (Read more...)

UNFI Earns QAI Organic Certification, Becoming First U.S. Food Distributor Certified Coast-to-Coast

San Diego, Calif. (September 12th, 2002) Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), global leader in organic certification, is pleased to announce that United Natural Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq: UNFI) has successfully earned organic certification, making it the first organic food distribution network in the United States to gain certification coast-to-coast. This certification comprises all of UNFI's distribution centers, including those of its Albert's Organics and Hershey Import divisions. (Read more...)

Leading Global Organic Certification Agency, QAI, Earns USDA Accreditation Under the National Organic Program

San Diego, Calif. (April 29th, 2002) Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), global leader in organic certification, announced today its accreditation from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to certify organic claims under the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP). (Read more...)

Two of the World's Largest Organic Certifiers Join Forces in Japan

Anaheim, CA - (March 8th, 2002) France-based ECOCERT SA and San Diego, California-based Quality Assurance International (QAI,Inc.) announced today the first ever equity tie-up between a European and US organic certifier. The announcement was made at the Natural Products Expo West (www.naturalproductexpo.com), currently being held in Anaheim, California. (Read more...)

QAI Launches Organic Certification Program for Restaurants

Anaheim, Calif. (March 8th, 2002) Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.) announced today the launch of its "Organic Certification Program for Restaurants." The announcement was made at the Natural Products Expo West (www.naturalproductexpo.com) currently being held in Anaheim, California. (Read more...)

QAI Launches New Certification Program

The 'Certified Source' Independent Verification Program is Based on International Standards Established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for Bottled Water Products.

San Diego, Calif. (July 18th, 2001) Quality Assurance International (QAI), is extending its method of traceability, authentication and verification beyond its traditional field of organic certification. QAI's expertise in the field of organic verification provides the framework for the company's implementation of a new program---Certified Source for Bottled Water Products. (Read more...)

QAI Poised to Certify to New Federal Organic Standards

San Diego, Calif. (December 20th, 2000) Quality Assurance International (QAI), a global leader in organic certification, applauded the release of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) final draft of the regulations for organic agriculture today, and announced that it is prepared to certify to the new standards and help implement the rule. Calling the document, "A rule that preserves organic integrity, facilitates trade and empowers certification agents," Joe Smillie, QAI's senior vice president said, "QAI looks forward to working with the USDA to achieve the best organic program in the world." The company has invested heavily to expand staff and streamline procedures to ensure a smooth transition to federal status. (Read more...)

QAI Japan Approved by Japanese Authority

North America's largest organic certifier becomes the only international certification agency to offer the JAS seal for organic products.

San Diego, Calif. (October 10th, 2000) QAI Japan Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Assurance International, announced today that it has been approved by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (MAFF). This will allow QAI clients the ability to be certified to Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS) and export as organic with JAS seal. Japanese demand for organic products has experienced dramatic growth, and this export market is increasingly important for international organic producers. (Read more...)

QAI Accredited through USDA/AMS ISO 65 Program

San Diego, Calif. (July 21st, 1999) Quality Assurance International (QAI), one of North America's largest organic certifiers, announced today that it has been accredited under the USDA/AMS (United States Department of Agriculture / Agricultural Marketing Service) ISO 65 program for organic certifiers. (Read more...)