Organic Integrity Learning Center: New Fraud Fighting Courses, New Features

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service national organic program organic insider

Two New Courses in Learning Center

The Organic Integrity Learning Center supports the ongoing professional development of people working in organic certification and compliance and enforcement roles. We are pleased to announce two new courses in the Learning Center.  

NOP-100: Organic Fraud and the Criminal Mind

Fraud anywhere in the organic system hurts organic farmers. Taught by an expert in food fraud, this course focuses on how the criminal mind works, so you can help deter fraud in the global organic supply chain. This course:

  • Shares insights into the criminal mind.
  • Describes the product fraud concept and the role of vulnerability assessments.
  • Breaks down the factors that can indicate fraud vulnerability.
  • Identifies opportunities for organic fraud and explains how to focus on these opportunities during the organic certification process.

NOP-080: Traceability Techniques

Traceability audits provide a window into the procedures of an operation and identify procedural weaknesses that may impact organic integrity. These audits are complex processes that require special technical and interpersonal skills from an inspector. This course:

  • Reviews the purpose of traceability techniques within the organic control system.
  • Teaches certifiers, inspectors, and reviewers traceability auditing techniques.
  • Explains and demonstrates two types of audits: a trace-back audit and a mass balance audit.

 

Upgrades to the Learning Center

The Learning Center recently migrated to Genius, a new student information system with expanded features. These additions respond to learner feedback since our launch last year. Learners now can:

  • Generate course completion certificates.
  • Print a transcript that shows course completions.

When you complete the assessments for a course with a score of 80–100%, the course will be moved to the "Completed Courses" section on your course curriculum dashboard. Once you complete the course, you will no longer have access to it. 

To revisit the content of any course, you can find all course resources in the course called NOP-999 Training Archive. This read-only archive includes course content, but not the lesson assessments. 

Have an Account: Access the Learning Center 

Need a Free Account: Read “Getting Started” and sign up at:
www.ams.usda.gov/services/organic-certification/training.

For questions about the Learning Center, contact USDA-NOP@apvit.com.

Organic Integrity Learning Center Video