What is a verhandelbaarheidsrapport & why do they matter?
- caoilinnokelly
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
If you work in the Dutch food supply chain, chances are you have dealt in verhandelbaarheidsrapporten at once point or another. In this article we will break down what a verhandelbaarheidrapport is and how it can help your company stay compliant.
What is a verhandelbaarheidsrapport?
A verhandelbaarheidsrapport is a report used in Dutch certification and supply-chain systems (e.g., SKAL for organic, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, RSPO, etc.) to show how much certified product a company is allowed to trade.
It helps verify that a company is not selling more certified volume than it has acquired, which is a key requirement in most Dutch and European chain-of-custody systems.
Many certification schemes require companies to keep clear records of certified inputs and outputs. A verhandelbaarheidsrapport is a document that can help tie those numbers together.
It is used to support audits proving that:
you’re not selling more product than you purchased
you’re managing your chain-of-custody or mass-balance correctly
your administration supports your certification claims.
💡 A verhandelbaarheidsrapport exists specifically to make sure that your chain-of-custody rules are being followed correctly. No matter which certification scheme you work with.
How are verhandelbaarheidsrapporten used?
Certified supply chains don’t operate in a straight line. Products are mixed, processed, repacked, combined, transformed. This is why it is difficult to define what has been certified and what hasn’t. That’s why certification bodies use different chain-of-custody models to describe how certified products should be handled.
Understanding these models is key to understanding why verhandelbaarheidsrapporten exist in the first place.
Chain-of-custody
Every certification scheme; SKAL, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, RSPO, and others needs a way to ensure that certified claims remain credible. That’s where chain-of-custody (CoC) comes in. It’s the rulebook that describes:
how certified goods should be received
how they can be stored or processed
how they may be sold or labelled
and most importantly: how to prove it
But because supply chains differ, not every product can be traced the same way. That’s why schemes use different models to manage what are called “certified flows.”
Chain of Custody models
Identity Preserved
The certified product remains physically separate and traceable back to a single origin.
In these models:
Certified product stays separate from non-certified product.
What comes in is exactly what goes out.
Traceability is physical and simple to explain.
Great in theory — but in real supply chains (think bulk commodities, juice, cocoa, grains, ingredients) this level of segregation is costly or simply impossible. This is when certification bodies shift to a more flexible model.
Segregated
Certified product must stay separate from non-certified product, but from multiple certified sources.
you can mix certified batches
you cannot mix certified nad non-certified
This is widely used for organic product, some Fairtrade product types and certain food ingredients.
Mass Balance
Mass balance allows companies to mix certified and non-certified physical products, as long as the volumes stay honest.
You don’t need physical segregation; you need administrative accuracy.
For example:
If you buy 10 tonnes of certified cocoa, you can only sell up to 10 tonnes of certified cocoa. Even if it’s physically mixed with non-certified cocoa along the way.
It’s a fair model, but it relies entirely on correct bookkeeping.
And that’s exactly where companies often get lost.
Where does the confusion come from?
Each certification scheme sets its own:
terminology
balance calculation rules
validity periods
documentation requirements
exceptions and edge cases (like processing losses, conversions, carry-over stocks)
Companies juggling multiple schemes quickly find themselves tracking:
mass balance for one product,
segregated flows for another,
identity preserved lots for a niche product,
and multiple audit periods at once.
Without structure, it becomes a maze.
Why the need for the verhandelbaarheidsrapport?
A verhandelbaarheidsrapport exists because these chain-of-custody models are so different and sometimes counter-intuitive.
The report provides one simple, universal answer across all models:
Does the company have enough certified inputs to justify its certified outputs?
No matter the scheme, no matter the model, this is the core requirement auditors need to verify.
The verhandelbaarheidsrapport translates complex certification logic into an easy-to-read, transparent balance sheet that shows:
certified in
certified out
certified remaining
and whether the company is fully compliant
For companies it removes guesswork, and for auditors it removes doubt. It protects the credibility of every certified claim in a supply chain.
What does a verhandelbaarheidsrapport include?
While formats can differ based on the scheme or system, a typical verhandelbaarheidsrapport usually shows:
Certified purchases: products, quantities and suppliers
Certified sales: products, quantities, buyers
Remaining certified balance
Certification scheme or standard (e.g., Organic/SKAL, Fairtrade, RFA)
Time period or audit period
Supporting documentation (invoices, certificates)
It is essentially, a snapshot of your certified product flows.
Why does it matter?
A verhandelbaarheidsrapport isn’t just there to satisfy auditors. It is also used to:
Protect your company: overselling certified voumes can result in warnings or suspension from certification schemes.
Demonstrate compliance: to internal teams, partners and certification bodies giving them confidence in your process.
Support audits: instead of digging through folders or spreadsheets, verhandelbaarheidsrapporten make sure everything is always ready to go.
How Agriplace helps to receive, process, label and certify goods
Many companies still build these reports manually, stitching together spreadsheets, delivery notes, and email chains. This works… until it doesn’t.
At Agriplace, we see how much time and stress it can save when certified input and output data is automatically structured, traceable, and ready for audits. A good system turns a messy task into a single overview that’s always up to date.
With Agriplace you get:
Fully compliant, up-to-date product information at all times
Reduced risks of product recalls and supply chain disruptions
70% time savings in managing suppliers and their data
Final thoughts
A verhandelbaarheidsrapport might sound like just another administrative requirement, but it plays a key role in building trust across certified supply chains. It ensures companies stay compliant, auditors can do their work efficiently, and consumers can rely on the claims made on products.
Whether you’re deep into your certification processes, just starting out, or navigating multiple schemes at once. Teams that understand this report get a lot more out of their compliance management.
Glossary
Chain of custody | The system that ensures certified products are handled, tracked, and documented correctly as they move through the supply chain — from input to output. |
Identity preserved | Certified products stay completely separate and fully traceable from a single source. What goes in is exactly what goes out. |
Segregated | Certified products from different certified sources can be mixed, but they must never be mixed with non-certified products. |
Mass balance | Certification based on volume, not physical traces. Certified and non-certified products may be physically mixed, but the volumes must match: you can only sell as much certified product as you have purchased as certified. |
Certified Flows | A certified flow is the movement of certified product through your company, from the moment it enters (as a purchase) to the moment it leaves (as a sale). It represents the path and volume of certified goods within your chain-of-custody administration. |