Herbs & Spices Programme
UEBT and Rainforest Alliance Herbs & Spices Programme
Herbs and spices are used in a variety of foods, beverages, and flavourings and provide important income to farmers around the world. UEBT and the Rainforest Alliance have developed a joint Herbs & Spices Programme. All ingredients certified under this new programme are able to carry the Rainforest Alliance certification seal.
With this partnership, we build on the positive track record of the UEBT/UTZ cooperation in herbal tea, the decades-long experience of the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ in sustainable agriculture certification, and UEBT’s expert knowledge of ethical sourcing of ingredients from biodiversity, including those ingredients collected from the wild.
Programme scope
The UEBT/Rainforest Alliance Herbs & Spices Programme brings together the previous UEBT/UTZ Herbal Tea Program along with the UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certification programmes for herbs, spices, rooibos, and vanilla. The programme applies to:
all ingredients for herbal and fruit infusions, including rooibos
other herbs & spices, including vanilla, chili, and pepper
What standards apply?
In the UEBT/Rainforest Alliance Herbs & Spices Programme the following standards apply:
For ingredient certification (for farms or companies sourcing herbs & spices): the UEBT/Rainforest Alliance requirements apply. There are several exceptions when farms cultivating herbs & spices are certified against the Rainforest Alliance 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard instead.
For supply chain actors that are sourcing certified products from the Herbs & Spices Programme, but that are not certificate holders: the new Rainforest Alliance 2020 Sustainable Agriculture Standard’s Supply Chain Requirements apply. For more information please visit the Which Standard Applies To You page on the Rainforest Alliance website.
For more details on UEBT/Rainforest Alliance requirements and exceptions, please see here.
Certification and auditing rules
The Requirements for Certificate Holders (for farms and local companies, and for companies not located in sourcing areas) lays out the different steps and requirements to prepare for your external audit in the Herbs & Spices Programme. It includes the conditions that need to be in place and the steps that should be followed for monitoring the implementation of the good practices in the UEBT standard and ensuring compliance with those requirements.
For more information, please see here.
Traceability
The Rainforest Alliance has a traceability platform called MultiTrace for herbs, spices, rooibos and other herbal tea ingredients. It is a single transactional system where farmers and companies record all purchases and sales of the Rainforest Alliance and UEBT/Rainforest Alliance certified herbs & spices.
Claims and labels
All ingredients certified under the new UEBT/Rainforest Alliance Herbs & Spices Programme can carry the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal. For labeling and claims, the Rainforest Alliance Labeling and Trademarks Policy applies.
The Rainforest Alliance introduced a new certification seal in June 2020 which replaced the previous Rainforest Alliance Certified seal and the UTZ label. Companies could submit labeling approval requests with the previous Rainforest Alliance Certified seal or the UTZ label until December 31, 2022. Read more on the timelines and how the previous Rainforest Alliance seal has been phased out.
The UEBT certification label may also be available for use. Contact us at claims@uebt.org for more information.
Sustainable Spices Initiative
UEBT and the Rainforest Alliance are members of the Sustainable Spices Initiative (SSI). SSI aims to sustainably transform the mainstream spices sector. It brings together an international group of companies active within herbs and spices, and NGOs. The member companies make a commitment to source their products sustainably and to make a positive impact on their value chains. SSI does not create its own standard but instead works with a 'basket of standards’ that members should use to fulfill their sourcing commitments. In order to become part of that ‘basket’, the standard needs to be benchmarked by SSI and reach a certain level of rigor and readiness.
In 2022 the UEBT standard was appraised by SSI and included into this ‘basket of standards.’ This means that the UEBT standard has been determined to cover the critical sustainability issues that the herbs and spices sector faces, and that the system is ready to audit herbs and spices production.
Membership Requirements
All organisations seeking UEBT (or UEBT/Rainforest Alliance) certification must become UEBT members, with membership adjusted to different types of organisations.
For organisations seeking certification that are directly responsible for cultivation or wild collection practices (these organisations are called ‘Organisations at Source’ in the UEBT system and are generally located in sourcing areas), an integrated approach to UEBT membership may apply. In this integrated approach, the membership assessment, which is a check of the company’s compliance with UEBT minimum requirements and their commitment to ethical sourcing, is conducted as part of, and at the same time as, the certification audit. Learn more about the requirements. There is a membership fee, but no application fee in this approach.
For farms and producer associations such as cooperatives, membership is optional if the organisation’s annual turnover is less than 2 million Euros. If these farms or associations opt for UEBT membership, the integrated membership process applies, but there is no membership fee.
For organisations seeking certification that are not directly responsible for cultivation or wild collection practices (e.g. manufacturers or brands buying from traders or not working in the sourcing area), the standard membership process applies. Learn more about the membership process and requirements.
Transition timelines and options
Learn more about transition timelines and different options here.
Contact us
Get in touch with us for more information at herbsandspices@uebt.org.
Get guidance
Have you already applied for certification? Visit our Get Certified pages.
