Compliance and Enforcement Updates: Organic Imports, Enforcement Report, Spanish Training

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service sent this bulletin at 08/21/2017 12:55 PM EDT
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Compliance & Enforcement Resources

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP) mission is to protect the integrity of the USDA organic seal. We protect organic farms and businesses who are playing by the rules by taking enforcement actions against those who break the rules.

Organic Imports

AMS is continuing to strengthen the oversight of imported organic products. A summary of actions to date is linked below. In addition, AMS has requested that the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) provide recommendations on improving the oversight and control procedures that are used by AMS, certifiers, and operations to verify organic claims for imported organic products.

Quarterly Compliance and Enforcement Report  

Each quarter, NOP posts a summary of enforcement activities during the previous three months. The report includes counts of incoming complaints and appeals, initial actions taken, suspensions, revocations, and case dispositions. Here's the report for April, May and June 2017:

Third Quarter Compliance & Enforcement/Appeals Report, Fiscal Year 2017
   

Posting of Enforcement Actions and Fraudulent Certificates  

AMS now posts NOP enforcement actions on a rolling basis to keep industry and the public informed. This includes AMS decisions, settlement agreements, and consent orders. The new spreadsheet format makes it easier to search and track fraudulent certificates.

  • Enforcement Actions: Access USDA/AMS enforcement actions (Scroll down for Settlement Agreements, and Suspension, Revocation and Appeals Decisions)
  • Fraudulent Certificates: Access spreadsheet of fraudulent certificates

NOTE: A new fraudulent organic certificate for Siripak Trading is now in use and has been added to the listing. Please remain vigilant when reviewing organic certificates, validate with certifying agents where needed, and send any suspicious certificates to the NOP Compliance and Enforcement team.
   

Training in Spanish Strengthens International Compliance  

AMS works with other nations to protect the integrity of organic products. We recently conducted training in Spanish with organic stakeholders and certifiers in Chile and Mexico to build their compliance and enforcement capabilities. 

Access Spanish language slides on ensuring the integrity of the organic supply chain: 

Asegurando la Integridad Orgánica en la Cadena de Suministro 
  

Additional Resources on Organic Supply Chain Integrity 

We continue to increase our online training and resources for stakeholders working to protect organic integrity in complex supply chains. Here are links to these resources: