Mass balance
Mass balance is a chain of custody model in which certified or verified material may be physically mixed with other material, while an administrative system ensures that the volume sold as certified never exceeds the volume of certified input, adjusted for conversion rates.
Also known as: MB · administrative mass balance
Why does it matter?
Mass balance is widely used by certification standards such as Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade for commodities where physical separation is hard. It supports certified farmers without requiring separate processing lines. Its limit is that a buyer cannot say that the physical product came from specific farms.
How does it work?
- Each site records certified inputs and outputs in a ledger.
- Conversion factors translate inputs into outputs, for example cocoa beans into cocoa butter and powder.
- Sales of certified output cannot exceed available certified credit over a defined period.
- Audits check the ledger.
Mass balance and the EUDR
Under the EUDR, every plot that produced the commodities in a product must be geolocated, and any deforestation on a plot disqualifies commodities from it. Mixing with material of unknown origin is a specific risk criterion (Article 10(2)(j)). For this reason, many operators move EUDR flows towards segregation or identity preservation, while mass balance continues for other claims.
Common pitfalls
- Presenting mass-balance products as physically traceable.
- Applying certification mass balance rules to legal compliance without checking the regulation.
- Loose conversion factors that create phantom credit.
Farmer1st supports several chain of custody models with first-mile data through its traceability and certification service.
Frequently asked questions
Is mass balance allowed under the EUDR?
The EUDR does not use the term. It requires that products are deforestation-free and that the geolocation of all plots that produced the commodities is declared. Mixing compliant material with material of unknown origin conflicts with these requirements, whatever the accounting.
Why do certification standards use mass balance?
It lets certified volumes enter large processing systems, such as cocoa grinding or palm refining, where physical separation is costly, while still rewarding certified farmers.
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