Enforcement Action Posting Update
The Agricultural Marketing
Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP) protects the integrity of the
USDA organic label and supports fair competition by overseeing the organic
market and taking enforcement actions (called adverse actions) when violations are
found.
The NOP is changing how we
post enforcement actions. The new approach expands the types of notices we post
and makes postings more frequent.
Actions related to organic
enforcement that we already post include:
- Settlement Agreements - Issued to
resolve proposed adverse actions and to bring a certifier or operator into
full compliance in a fast and efficient manner
- AMS Decisions – Issued
when a certifier or operator appeals an adverse action, and the AMS
Administrator sustains or denies the appeal.
- Administrative Law Judge Decisions -
Issued when a USDA Administrative Law Judge makes a decision related to
the USDA organic regulations.
- USDA Judicial Officer Decisions -
Issued when the USDA Judicial Office makes a decision related to an
organic operation or accredited certifier.
The NOP previously
posted these actions on a quarterly basis, concurrent with posting our
Quarterly Enforcement Report. Starting in June 2017, we are posting these on
a rolling basis, so new Notices will be posted within 1-2 weeks of being
issued.
We are also adding
the following adverse actions to our postings:
-
Notice of Suspension or Revocation issued by NOP – Issued when AMS-NOP suspends or
revokes a certifier or certified operation. Posted under: AMS Decisions
All enforcement actions are
available from links at the base of: https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/enforcement/organic.
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