UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE 

BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATOR 

)

In re: ) 

Euroasia’s Organics Inc., ) Administrator’s Decision 

Dba Naturevibe Botanicals Inc. ) 

)

Rahway, New Jersey ) APL-021-21 

) 

This Decision responds to an Appeal (APL-021-21) of a Notice of Proposed Suspension 

of National Organic Program (NOP) certification issued to Euroasia’s Organics Inc., dba 

Naturevibe Botanicals Inc. (Euroasia’s) of Rahway, New Jersey by then-USDA-accredited 

certifying agent, Ecocert ICO (ICO) and a Notice of Denial of Certification issued by USDAaccredited certifying agent, Ecocert SA (SA). The operation has been deemed not in compliance 

with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (Act)1

 and the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) organic regulations.2 

BACKGROUND 

The Act authorizes the Secretary to accredit agents to certify crop, livestock, wild crop, 

and/or handling operations to the USDA organic regulations (7 C.F.R. Part 205). Certifying 

agents also initiate compliance actions to enforce program requirements, as described in section 

205.662, Noncompliance procedure for certified operations. Persons subject to the Act who 

1

 7 U.S.C. 6501-6522 

2

 7 C.F.R. Part 205 

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believe they are adversely affected by a noncompliance decision of a certifying agent may appeal 

such decision to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) pursuant to §205.680 

Adverse Action Appeals Process – General, and § 205.681, Appeals of the USDA organic 

regulations. 

FINDINGS OF FACT 

1. On December 31, 2016, Euroasia’s was certified organic for handling by ICO, a satellite 

office of SA. 

2. On June 29, 2020, ICO issued a Notice of Noncompliance. 

3. On July 17, 2020, ICO issued a Notice of Proposed Suspension. 

4. On September 16, 2020, ICO and Euroasia’s entered into a Settlement Agreement. 

5. On February 21, 2020, Euroasia’s, having been notified that ICO was surrendering its 

accreditation, applied for certification by SA, the “parent company” of ICO. ICO was a 

satellite office of SA. 

6. On October 30, 2020, SA issued a Notice of Noncompliance for numerous 

noncompliances found at an inspection of Euroasia’s. 

7. On January 21, 2021, ICO issued a Notice of Proposed Suspension for Euroasia’s breach 

of its Settlement Agreement with ICO. 

8. On January 21, 2021, SA issued a Notice of Denial of Certification for Euroasia’s failure 

to correct all the numerous noncompliances found at the inspection. 

9. On February 8, 2021, ICO issued a Notice of Noncompliance regarding a finding of 

prohibited substances on Euroasia’s product. 

10. On February 13, 2021, Euroasia’s requested mediation as to the ICO Notice of Proposed 

Suspension and the SA Notice of Denial of Certification. 

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11. On March 8, 2021, ICO and SA both issued a Notice of Mediation Rejection. 

12. On March 23, 2021, Euroasia’s filed an Appeal to both adverse actions. 

13. On April 1, 2021, ICO surrendered accreditation. 

DISCUSSION 

The USDA organic regulations at 7 C.F.R. §205.103, Recordkeeping by certified 

operations, state that, “(a) A certified operation must maintain records concerning the 

production, harvesting, and handling of agricultural products that are or that are intended to be 

sold, labeled, or represented as “100 percent organic,” “organic,” or “made with organic 

(specified ingredients or food group(s)).” The regulation further states, “(b) Such records must: 

... (2) Fully disclose all activities and transactions of the certified operation in sufficient detail as 

to be readily understood and audited; (3) Be maintained for not less than 5 years beyond their 

creation; and (4) Be sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the Act and the regulations in this 

part.” The regulations at §205.201, Organic production and handling system plan, state that, “(a) 

The producer or handler of a production or handling operation ... must develop an organic 

production or handling system plan that is agreed to by the producer or handler and an accredited 

certifying agent... plan must include: ... (1) A description of practices and procedures to be 

performed and maintained, including the frequency with which they will be performed; (2) A list 

of each substance to be used as a production or handling input, indicating its composition, 

source, location(s) where it will be used ... (3) A description of the monitoring practices and 

procedures to be performed and maintained ... (4) A description of the recordkeeping system 

implemented to comply with the requirements established in §205.103; (5) A description of the 

management practices and physical barriers established to prevent ... contact of organic 

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production and handling operations and products with prohibited substances; and (6) Additional 

information deemed necessary by the certifying agent to evaluate compliance with the 

regulations.” 

The organic regulations at §205.400, General requirements for certification, state that, “A 

person seeking to receive or maintain organic certification under the regulations in this part must: 

(a) Comply with the Act and applicable organic production and handling regulations of this part; 

(b) Establish, implement, and update annually an organic production or handling system plan 

that is submitted to an accredited certifying agent as provided for in §205.200; ...” The organic 

regulations at §205.401, Application for certification, state that, “A person seeking certification 

of a production or handling operation under this subpart must submit an application ... must 

include the following information: (a) An organic production or handling system plan, as 

required in §205.200; (b) The name of the person completing the application; the applicant’s 

business name ... (d) Other information necessary to determine compliance with the Act and the 

regulations in this part.” The organic regulations at §205.406, Continuation of certification, state 

that a certified operation must “... submit the following information, as applicable, to the 

certifying agent: (1) An updated organic production or handing system plan ... (4) Other 

information as deemed necessary by the certifying agent to determine compliance with the Act 

and the regulations in this part.” 

Euroasia’s was certified organic for the handling of dried plants, herbs, spices, 

shortening, and oils, on December 31, 2016 by ICO. However, ICO surrendered its accreditation 

on April 1, 2021, and Euroasia’s applied to SA for certification. ICO and SA both stated that 

Euroasia’s Organic System Plan (OSP) was incomplete, and did not provide needed information 

about products for which certification was sought, procedures to verify the organic status of 

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suppliers, adequate information to allow for traceability of products, and practices and 

procedures to manage incoming products and inputs. ICO stated these noncompliances 

constituted a breach of its previous Settlement Agreement with Euroasia’s. SA stated these 

noncompliances supported a denial of certification. Euroasia’s stated that it was working on 

corrective actions for the numerous noncompliances, including hiring qualified personnel to 

monitor organic compliance, updating its OSP, maintaining all required records, and using only 

certified organic suppliers. 

The evidence substantiates that on July 17, 2020, ICO issued a Notice of Proposed 

Suspension after finding that Euroasia’s failed to correct noncompliances involving 

noncompliant labels cited in a prior June 29, 2020 Notice of Noncompliance. ICO requested 

Euroasia’s to submit an explanation regarding the noncompliant label; the lot numbers and 

quantity of organic product sold with the noncompliant labels; evidence that the product with 

noncompliant labels will be removed from a popular online retailer site; the identity of any other 

third party sites selling Euroasia’s products; an explanation as to why Euroasia’s hadn’t 

previously identified its dba; and an organization chart and information on the business 

relationship between Euroasia’s and its dba. 

After conducting mediation, ICO and Euroasia’s entered into a Settlement Agreement on 

September 16, 2020, whereby Euroasia’s agreed to submit, within 30 days of execution of the 

agreement, an updated OSP that accurately identifies its business name, including its dba, and 

includes all activities and product sales under it name and any dba. Euroasia’s also agreed to 

submit an updated Master Ingredient List and current organic certificates of all 

ingredient/product suppliers; and ensure that non-organic products aren’t misrepresented as 

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organic. All products represented as USDA organic were to handled/processed and sold 

exclusively through Euroasia’s and its dba, Naturevibe Botanicals Inc. 

ICO subsequently found that Euroasia’s failed to comply with the terms of the Settlement 

Agreement and issued a Notice of Proposed Suspension on January 21, 2021. Specifically, the 

notice stated that Euroasia’s failed to provide an accurate list of products for which certification 

was sought that matched with the supplier certificates submitted; and the OSP didn’t provide for 

verification of organic suppliers to ensure that non-organic products weren’t misrepresented as 

organic. 

Concurrently, Euroasia’s learned that ICO was to surrender its accreditation and that 

Euroasia’s would need to obtain a new certifier. Therefore, on February 21, 2020, Euroasia’s 

applied to SA for certification. SA, located in France, is the “parent company” of ICO, which 

SA considers a satellite office. SA’s accreditation wasn’t affected by ICO’s surrender. The 

Organic Integrity Database identifies Euroasia’s as “transitioning to new certifier.” SA 

conducted an inspection of Euroasia’s on September 28, 2020 and found several 

noncompliances, which resulted in SA issuing a Notice of Noncompliance on October 30, 2020. 

Euroasia’s responded to the notice, submitting numerous documents, including sourcing 

procedures; a Master Ingredient List; a processing chart; supplier certificates; and cleaning 

procedures. 

On January 21, 2021, SA issued a Notice of Denial of Certification, stating that 

Euroasia’s had failed to correct numerous of the other cited noncompliances. Specifically, while 

Euroasia’s submitted an OSP, it was incomplete, missing a list of substances to be used and 

information on the substances, such as composition, source, and origin. SA also stated that 

although Euroasia’s had submitted updates to its Activities and Product Profile form and Master 

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-

-

Ingredient List as required in its Settlement Agreement with ICO, the documents didn’t allow for 

successful traceability exercises and verification of the organic status of products requested for 

certification. The OSP also didn’t include a description of practices and procedures to manage 

incoming products/ingredients or inputs. Euroasia’s was to provide procedures for verifying the 

organic status of sourced products/ingredients. 

On February 13, 2021, Euroasia’s requested mediation for both the Notice of Proposed 

Suspension issued by ICO and the Notice of Denial of Certification issued by SA, both having 

been issued January 21, 2021. On March 8, 2021, SA and ICO both issued Notices of Rejection 

of Mediation. On March 23, 2021, Euroasia’s filed an Appeal to both adverse actions, stating 

that it commits to hiring qualified personnel to monitor organic compliance; updating its OSP 

and organic procedures; monitoring and selecting suppliers with current organic certification and 

obtaining documentation of this; and maintaining all required records to allow for traceability 

and audit. Euroasia’s stated it understands the seriousness of the noncompliances and is taking 

preventive measures to avoid the noncompliances in the future. Euroasia’s didn’t provide any 

other information and provided no documentation to support its Appeal. On March 29, 2021, 

NOP sent Euroasia’s a letter acknowledging the Appeal and giving Euroasia’s 45 days to submit 

information and documentation supporting its Appeal. After no reply was forthcoming, NOP 

emailed Euroasia’s on May 28, 2021, providing Euroasia’s with an additional week to submit 

support for the Appeal. To date, Euroasia’s has not submitted any support for its Appeal. 

It is noted that on February 8, 2021, ICO issued a Notice of Noncompliance, stating that 

it had obtained a retail sample of Euroasia’s Organic Premium Moringa Powder (1 lb.) on 

December 31, 2020, and submitted it for testing. The January 21, 2021 lab report of 

(b) (4) (b) (4)

 on the testing of Lot MLP/102, XOO1EYPQ7J, revealed the presence of 

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-

Diphenylamine at 0.080 mg/kg and Chlorantraniliprole at 0.052 mg/kg. Neither of these 

substances has an EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) tolerance level and, therefore, can’t 

be used in organic production or handling. The Notice of Noncompliance stated that Euroasia’s 

was to confirm that it wouldn’t sell any product from the Lot in question as organic; submit all 

test results from any other testing done on the Lot; and provide the quantity of product left from 

the Lot and the quantity sold from the Lot along with the customer names. Further, Euroasia’s 

was required to identify the source of the contamination that may have occurred while the 

product was under the control of Euroasia’s and corrective actions taken to prevent such an 

occurrence in the future; a written description of actions to control release of the remainder of the 

Lot; and a complete set of audit trail documents for the Lot. 

Euroasia’s submitted responses on February 22, 2021 and April 8, 2021 to ICO, stating 

that it had sold 

(b) (4)

 of the product to an online retailer, submitting a corrective action plan 

and invoices, and stating that it wouldn’t sell the remainder of the lot as organic. However, ICO 

found that Euroasia’s response was insufficient, as it lacked shipping documents, including 

Tracenet export certificates to allow the tracing of the product back to the 

(b) (4)

. As 

ICO has surrendered accreditation and Euroasia’s isn’t certified by SA, no additional action has 

been taken regarding the prohibited substances noncompliance. Therefore, while this 

noncompliance is discussed herein because it illustrates ongoing concerns about the operation’s 

compliance status, it is not a basis for denying Euroasia’s Appeal. 

CONCLUSION 

The USDA organic regulations assure consumers that products with the USDA organic 

seal meet consistent, uniform standards. Key to these standards is that products with the USDA 

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organic seal are produced and handled in accordance with the organic regulations. However, the 

evidence substantiates that Euroasia’s violated the organic regulations at 7 C.F.R. §205.103, 

Recordkeeping by certified operations; 7 C.F.R. §205.201, Organic production and handling 

system plan; 7 C.F.R. §205.400, General requirements for certification; 7 C.F.R. §205.401, 

Application for certification; and 7 C.F.R. §205.406, Continuation of certification. Specifically, 

Euroasia’s failed to submit a complete OSP with all required information, including information 

on inputs; verifying the organic status of all suppliers; an accurate list of products for which 

certification was sought that match with submitted supplier certificates; and a description of 

practices and procedures to manage incoming products/ingredients. Additionally, documentation 

submitted by Euroasia’s wasn’t sufficient to allow for successful traceability exercises. 

Euroasia’s has been unable to comply with or maintain compliance with the organic regulations 

and therefore, can’t remain certified. 

DECISION 

Euroasia’s March 23, 2021 Appeal is denied, and both the January 21, 2021 Notice of 

Proposed Suspension issued by ICO and the January 21, 2021 Notice of Denial of Certification 

issued by SA are affirmed. 

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y _________________________________ 

Attached to this formal Administrator’s Decision denying Euroasia’s Appeal is a Request 

for Hearing form. Euroasia’s has thirty (30) days to request an administrative hearing before an 

Administrative Law Judge. If Euroasia’s waives the hearing, this Administrator’s Decision 

suspending Euroasia’s certification will become final. 

Done at Washington, D.C., on this _____ 5th

day of ________________, 2021. July

Digitally signed by BRUCE BRUCE SUMMERS 

Date: 2021.07.05 15:23:42 SUMMERS -04'00'

Bruce Summers 

Administrator 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

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