UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE 

BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATOR 

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 ) 

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In re:

 

Ahimsa Sanctuary Farms LLC 

Haikau, Hawaii 

 

Administrator’s Decision 

APL-011-22 

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This Decision responds to an Appeal (APL-011-22) of a Notice of Proposed Suspension 

under the National Organic Program (NOP) issued to Ahimsa Sanctuary Farms LLC (Ahimsa) of 

Haikau, Hawaii by International Certification Services/Where Food Comes From (ICS/WFCF), a 

USDA accredited certifying agent. 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 

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

1

 7 U.S.C. 6501-6522 

2

 7 C.F.R. Part 205 

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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 February 22, 2016, Ahimsa was certified organic for crops by ICS/WFCF. 

2. On August 18, 2020, ICS/WFCF issued a Notice of Noncompliance to Ahimsa. 

3. On November 13, 2020, ICS/WFCF issued a Notice of Noncompliance identifying remaining 

noncompliances to be addressed by Ahimsa. 

4. On February 10, 2021, ICS/WFCF issued a Notice of Proposed Suspension to Ahimsa. 

5. On February 17, 2021, ICS/WFCF accepted Ahimsa’s mediation request. 

6. On May 3, 2021, Ahimsa and ICS/WFCF entered into a Settlement Agreement. 

7. October 29, 2021, ICS/WFCF issued a Notice of Proposed Suspension after finding that 

Ahimsa had breached its Settlement Agreement. 

8. On November 12, 2021, ICS/WFCF issued a Notice of Rejection of Mediation to Ahimsa’s 

mediation request. 

9. On December 10, 2021, Ahimsa filed an Appeal. 

10. On March 7, 2022, USDA/AMS entered into a Settlement Agreement with Ahimsa. 

11. On April 14, 2022, ICS/WFCF reported to NOP that Ahimsa had breached the March 7, 2022 

Settlement Agreement. 

12. On April 22, 2022, NOP issued a Notice of Noncompliance and Request for Corrective 

Action to Ahimsa. 

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13. On May 27, 2022, NOP, acknowledging that Ahimsa had submitted several of the requested 

documents, issued a Second Notice of Noncompliance and Request for Corrective Action to 

Ahimsa, providing additional time to respond. 

14. On July 20, 2022, ICS/WFCF confirmed that the remaining noncompliances haven’t been 

resolved by Ahimsa. 

DISCUSSION 

The USDA organic regulations at 7 C.F.R. §205.100 What has to be certified, state that, 

“...each production or handling operation or specified portion of a production or handling 

operation that produces or handles crops, livestock, livestock products, or other agricultural 

products that are intended to be sold, labeled, or represented as “100 percent organic,” “organic,” 

or “made with organic (specified ingredients or food group(s))” must be certified according to 

the provisions of subpart E of this part and must meet all other applicable requirements of this 

part.” The organic regulations at §205.102, Use of the term, “organic,” state that, any 

agricultural product that is sold, labeled, or represented as organic must be produced and handled 

in accordance with the organic regulations. 

The organic regulations at §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)). (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; ... (4) Be 

sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the Act and the regulations in this part.” 

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The organic regulations at §205.201, Organic production and handling system plan, state 

that, the producer or handler of a certified operation must develop an organic production or 

handling system plan that describes the practices and procedures of the operation, the 

recordkeeping system implemented by the operation, and 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 in this part; 

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

(d) Maintain all records applicable to the organic operation for not less than 5 years beyond their 

creation ...” Additionally, the organic regulations at §205.406, Continuation of certification, 

state that, “(a) To continue certification, a certified operation must annually pay the certification 

fees and submit the following information, as applicable, to the certifying agent: (1) An updated 

organic production or handling system plan which includes: (i) A summary statement, supported 

by documentation, detailing any deviations from, changes to, modifications to, or other 

amendments made to the previous year’s organic system plan during the previous year ... (4) 

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

Act and the regulations in this part.” 

Certifier ICS/WFCF certified Ahimsa for crops on February 22, 2016. ICS/WFCF issued 

a Notice of Noncompliance on August 18, 2020, after the December 27, 2019 inspection of 

Ahimsa revealed labels lacking required certifier and ingredient information, and various 

recordkeeping noncompliances. ICS/WFCF issued a second Notice of Noncompliance on 

November 13, 2020, after finding that Ahimsa’s reply didn’t sufficiently address all the cited 

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noncompliances and delineated the remaining noncompliances. After Ahimsa again failed to 

adequately address all the noncompliances, ICS/WFCF issued a Notice of Proposed Suspension 

on February 10, 2021. ICS/WFCF accepted Ahimsa’s mediation request on February 17, 2021, 

and subsequently, the parties entered into a Settlement Agreement on May 3, 2021. The 

Settlement Agreement contained specific terms requiring Ahimsa to cease using labels until they 

were approved by ICS/WFCF; and requiring Ahimsa to submit requested documents on inputs, 

planting stock and seeds, and suppliers; as well as pay all owed fees, and timely respond to 

ICS/WFCF requests. The agreement stated that a failure by Ahimsa to comply with all its terms 

would automatically void the agreement, and ICS/WFCF would reinstate the proposed 

suspension. Therefore, after Ahimsa failed to submit requested documents by the deadline set by 

ICS/WFCF and didn’t complete its Organic System Plan (OSP), ICS/WFCF issued a Notice of 

Proposed Suspension on October 29, 2021. ICS/WFCF denied this second mediation request on 

November 12, 2021, detailing the numerous documents/noncompliances that Ahimsa had failed 

to submit/address, despite reminders from ICS/WFCF and their prior Settlement Agreement. 

Ahimsa filed an Appeal with NOP on December 10, 2021. Ahimsa cited to its attempts 

to resolve the noncompliances, and issues with communications with its certifier. As Ahimsa 

had made progress in resolving cited noncompliances, which could be corrected, NOP offered 

Ahimsa a Settlement Agreement, which mirrored many of the items in the prior ICS/WFCF 

agreement and which remained unresolved. The NOP-Ahimsa Settlement Agreement was 

executed on March 7, 2022, and contained specific terms including the updating of the OSP; 

timely paying certification fees; assuring that its product labels contained all required 

information and not using labels until they were approved by the certifier; updating ingredient 

information in the OSP and submitting the organic certificates of ingredient suppliers; and 

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completing, submitting, and thereafter maintaining all required records including those on inputs, 

planting stock, seeds, seed searches, and planting and harvest logs. 

However, on April 14, 2022, ICS/WFCF reported to NOP that Ahimsa had failed to 

comply with several terms of the NOP Settlement Agreement, listing the terms which Ahimsa 

breached. NOP issued a Notice of Noncompliance and Request for Corrective Action to Ahimsa 

on April 22, 2022, informing Ahimsa that a breach of the NOP agreement had been reported, and 

listing the multitude of documents which Ahimsa had failed to submit; noncompliances which 

weren’t adequately addressed; items that weren’t addressed at all; and that the label provided by 

Ahimsa is still not compliant. NOP gave Ahimsa 30 days to comply with the terms of the 

Settlement Agreement and take the corrective action of submitting the cited 

documents/information. On May 25, 2022, ICS/WFCF informed NOP that Ahimsa had 

submitted some of the required documentation, but not all noncompliances were resolved or even 

addressed. However, in light of Ahimsa’s efforts to address the cited noncompliances, NOP 

issued a second Notice of Noncompliance and Request for Corrective Action on May 27, 2022, 

giving Ahimsa an additional 30 days to address the yet unresolved or unaddressed 

noncompliances which NOP delineated. 

On June 24, 2022, Ahimsa wrote NOP and ICS/WFCF, addressing the NOP notice of 

May 24, 2022. However, on June 30, 2022, ICS/WFCF informed NOP that some items still 

remain unresolved. After Ahimsa submitted additional documentation, ICS/WFCF sent an 

updated assessment of the remaining unresolved items to NOP on July 5, 2022. NOP, in another 

attempt to obtain full compliance with Ahimsa, emailed Ahimsa on July 6, 2022, regarding the 

remaining unresolved items. NOP sent another reminder to Ahimsa on July 12, 2022. However, 

Ahimsa hasn’t responded to NOP or submitted the remaining outstanding documentation and 

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information which was confirmed by ICS/WFCF on July 20, 2022. As seen, ICS/WFCF and 

NOP have both given Ahimsa many opportunities to fully come into compliance; however, 

Ahimsa has failed to do so. 

The NOP-Ahimsa Settlement Agreement in Term 4J states that, “Ahimsa agrees that the 

failure to abide by the terms of paragraphs immediately above shall result in USDA, AMS 

possibly pursuing an administrative hearing process against Ahimsa.” Clause 3D of the 

Settlement Agreement states that, “Ahimsa withdraws its appeal and waives further appeal rights 

in this matter. Failure to comply with the Settlement Agreement shall automatically void 

paragraph 2 above.” Paragraph 2 states, “USDA, AMS agrees not to issue a formal 

Administrator’s Decision charging Ahimsa with alleged violations of the OFPA and the USDA 

organic regulations for any actions disclosed by the investigation which gave rise to this 

agreement.” A closure letter sent to Ahimsa on March 7, 2022 with the executed agreement also 

stated that, “... failure to abide by the terms of the agreement shall automatically void the 

Settlement Agreement and USDA, AMS may pursue an administrative hearing process.” 

CONCLUSION 

Ahimsa has violated the organic regulations at 7 C.F.R. §205.100, 7 C.F.R. §205.103, 7 

C.F.R. §205.201, 7 C.F.R. §205.400, and 7 C.F.R. §205.406, by failing to submit all required 

documentation and information per the organic regulations and as agreed to in its Settlement 

Agreement with NOP. The Settlement Agreement has been breached, thereby reviving the initial 

October 29, 2021 Notice of Proposed Suspension. Ahimsa can’t remain certified at this time. 

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y _________________________________ 

SUMMERS 

-04'00' 

DECISION 

Ahimsa’s December 10, 2021 Appeal of the October 29, 2021 Notice of Proposed 

Suspension is denied, and Ahimsa’s crop certification is suspended. Pursuant to the organic 

regulations at 7 CFR §205.662(f), Ahimsa may apply for reinstatement at any time, though a 

request for reinstatement must be accompanied by evidence demonstrating full compliance with 

the organic regulations. While under suspension, Ahimsa may not sell, label, or represent any 

products as organic. 

Additionally, attached to this formal Administrator’s Decision denying Ahimsa’s Appeal 

is a Request for Hearing form. Ahimsa has thirty (30) days to request an administrative hearing 

before an Administrative Law Judge. 

Done at Washington, D.C., on this _____ 27th

day of ________________, 2022. July

Digitally signed by BRUCE BRUCE 

Date: 2022.07.27 21:13:39 SUMMERS 

Bruce Summers 

Administrator 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

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