Organic Oversight and Enforcement Update

Summary of Activities – May 2019

Protecting the integrity of the USDA organic

seal is the top priority of the Agricultural

Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic

Program (NOP).

As the organic sector grows and supply chains 

become more complex, NOP continues to 

increase its oversight capacity to meet the 

evolving needs of the organic community. 

Between 2018-2019, the number of certified 

organic operations reached 43,004 worldwide. 

Just over 1,000 of the new certifications were in the United States, for a new high of 27,494

certified farms and businesses. The net increase in international certifications slowed to 713 for a 

total of 15,510.

In May 2018, NOP published an organic oversight and action plan report, outlining enforcement

progress and action plans.

This 2019 update highlights activities and successes, including:

• Risk-based Oversight and Enforcement

• Import Oversight

• Dairy Compliance Project

Oversight and Enforcement Summary

Risk-Based Complaint and Appeals Management

Risk analysis makes it possible for staff to focus resources where they have the greatest impact.

Between October 2018 and March 2019, NOP received about 260 complaints and inquiries.

• Simple inquiries are now handled by intake staff, providing customers with answers 

faster and focusing analyst time on more complex investigations. NOP resolved 113

inquiries using this approach between October 2018 and March 2019.

• Complaints about uncertified businesses selling products as organic are handled by a 

team trained to reduce case processing times and to compel compliance faster. These 

cases continue to account for more than fifty percent of complaints received by NOP.
Page 2

• Complex cases are assigned to more 

experienced NOP investigators. This 

specialization allows the team to initiate 

investigations more quickly than in the 

past. NOP has also increased its work 

with the USDA Office of Inspector 

General (OIG), referring cases that 

include potential criminal activity for 

investigation by other Federal law 

enforcement partners.

NOP continues to meet its target of resolving 

90 percent of appeals within 180 days of 

receipt. Between October 2018 and March 

2019, NOP closed 22 appeal cases with an 

average processing time of 99 days.

By focusing resources on the most complicated cases with the highest risk to the market, NOP 

closed 175 complaint investigations and inquiries between October 2018 and March 2019.

NOP launched the COMPLIANCE Database in March 2019. This new tool allows the team to 

better track case progress and more quickly identify patterns and relationships across complaints.

Certifier Oversight

Congress established NOP as a public/private partnership. The 78 Federally-accredited certifiers

include private companies, nonprofits, and State departments of agriculture, all of which have a 

critical role in organic oversight and enforcement. The NOP accreditation team ensures certifier 

staff have the experience, training and tools they need to be effective.

• Certifiers suspended 326 operations for noncompliance with organic standards in the six

months from October 2018 through March 2019.

• NOP staff conducted 14 audits of certifiers, including four satellite offices in the past

six months. The findings continue to demonstrate certifiers are highly competent, with

94 percent of accreditation compliance criteria being met across certifiers last year.

• In cases where a certifier fails to meet accreditation compliance criteria, NOP issues a 

“notice of noncompliance,” which the certifier must address. When noncompliances are 

not adequately addressed, NOP may propose the suspension of a certifier’s accreditation. 

In these cases, NOP may choose to enter into settlement agreements to quickly bring the 

certifier into compliance. In other cases, the adverse action process continues, and the 

certifier’s accreditation may be suspended. To comply with due process rights, 

enforcement actions may not be made public until due process is completed.

NOP recently teamed up with OIG representatives to 

conduct an organic training exercise with a certifier in New 

Jersey. Cross-training and increased collaboration are keys

to continuing to grow our capacity to protect organic 

integrity.
Page 3

• When compliance is not achieved, certifiers are suspended. In September 2018, Bolicert

accepted a suspension under a Consent Order with an Administrative Law Judge and in 

May 2019, NOP suspended Control Union’s Turkey Office. Operations certified by these 

organizations must surrender their certifications or reapply for certification with new 

certifiers.

Deepening Global Organic Control Systems

In addition to operation and certifier-specific actions, NOP continues to lead projects that

improve its capacity to oversee organic control systems around the world.

• The Organic Integrity Learning

Center, launched in April 2019,

provides free online training

available 24/7 to support the

professional development and

continuing education of individuals

working to protect organic

integrity. More than 500 people

established Learning Center

accounts in the first two weeks.

• Organic regulations require

certifiers to report updates about

certified operations to NOP once a

year. The Organic Integrity

Database is the modernized system

that holds this information.

Certifiers with the best data quality

in the system, including more

frequent updates, receive Investing in Integrity Data Quality Awards. Over the past two

years, NOP has seen significant improvements in the scope and quality of data being

shared. Almost half of certifiers now voluntarily report acreage on an operation level, a

key statistic for enforcement, and about 75 percent of certifiers make updates throughout

the year.

• The Strengthening Organic Enforcement proposed rule is moving forward. This rule

incorporates 2018 Farm Bill provisions to protect organic integrity, deter fraud, and

bolster trust in the USDA organic label. It will do this by strengthening organic control

systems, improving import oversight, and solidifying specific sections of the USDA

organic regulations. The rule will be available for public comment this Fall.

The Organic Integrity Learning Center, Compliance and

Enforcement module provides interactive lessons that break

down complicated concepts to provide certifiers a

meaningful educational experience with real-world

applicability.
Page 4

Import Oversight

The value of U.S. organic imports continued

to increase in 2018, reaching $2.2 billion, a

nine percent increase from 2017. Given this

growth, import oversight continues to be an

area of focus for NOP, with five key initiatives

that directly support enforcement.

Farm-Level Yield Analysis

NOP is investing heavily to improve oversight of the complex supply chains stretching from the 

Black Sea region to the United States. NOP is also focusing on farm-level activities in high 

volume regions with multiple risk factors. To support these investigations, NOP conducted a

review of all certified organic grain and oilseed producers in three Black Sea region countries 

using farm-level records, region-level data and international weather models. The analysis 

revealed a concerning pattern of organic farms reporting yields that far exceed regional averages. 

This analysis provided targeted information about specific farms and certifiers that is directly 

supporting active enforcement actions. Since the NOP began its investigative work on this region 

in 2016, more than 180 operations have surrendered their certification.

In the Fall of 2018, NOP trained certifiers to use these new analytical tools for researching 

regional data on yields, equipping participants to evaluate farm-level records against a range of 

open-source data as a part of organic certification. This training is also available in the Organic 

Integrity Learning Center. In addition to enforcement actions, NOP continues to develop training 

for certifiers to make this kind of analysis part of regular producer oversight.

Supply Chain Research

To support supply chain investigations, NOP is also completing a project to illuminate the 

business relationships between high-impact farms, consolidators, handlers and exporters in the 

Black Sea region. This has involved the investigation of more than 450 shipping records and a 

comprehensive review of the shipment handling process for organic shipments of corn and 

soybeans entering the United States from the region since 2016.

This initiative directly supports the development of risk-based oversight models that can be 

deployed for any region in the world to better target resources to investigations.

Ship-Specific Surveillance

Over the last year several organic industry organizations have requested NOP investigate specific 

shipments from the Black Sea region for fraud. NOP has engaged in ship-specific surveillance 

projects each time there has been credible information and enough detail to identify the entities 

involved. This has resulted in numerous vessel reviews and collaboration with colleagues at 

Customs and Border Protection for additional support, where appropriate. All these shipments 

have been traceable back to certified organic farms and handlers.
Page 5

These ship-specific research activities are important for market surveillance and highlight the 

need for the farm-level yield analysis project described above. Although they have not revealed 

specific fraudulent activity on their own, in some cases, we found that the certifier involved had 

not performed adequate oversight of farms or supply chains. As a result, NOP has increased the

focus on certifier competency. To better hold them accountable, NOP is providing clear

expectations for the oversight of high-risk supply chains. This increased focus on certifier

competency emphasizes the systemic improvements required at the certifier control system level

to address root causes and block fraud.

Country-Commodity Studies

NOP is working with the International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS) to conduct two 

country-commodity studies. The goal of this study is to develop standard approaches for 

examining risks, or emerging risks, at the commodity level across an entire country. One 

commodity being studied is grain in the Black Sea region. The other is a specialty crop in Central 

America. Study outcomes will advance our ability to rapidly respond to emerging concerns using 

validated risk-based approaches.

Fumigation Investigations

NOP continues to collaborate with the USDA Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to investigate the possible 

fumigation of products labeled as organic.

As an example, in March 2019, the APHIS team at Port of 

Philadelphia notified NOP staff that a shipment of about 350 

boxes of bell peppers labeled as organic had been fumigated. 

They provided label photographs and supply chain documents, 

including invoices. Label photographs are critical evidence but

are not included in the text-only automated fumigation reports 

currently provided by the APHIS database.

NOP used the evidence and available trade data to identify the 

importer who promptly replaced the individual stickers on each 

pepper and papered over the word “organic” on all bulk 

APHIS oversees the fumigation

of non-organic asparagus. NOP

traveled to the Port of Miami in

Summer 2018 to learn more about

fumigation reporting.

Market Impact

NOP’s heightened oversight and enforcement actions in the Black Sea region have

impacted the marketplace. At least 180 operations (60 percent) in the Black Sea

region have lost their organic certification. The remaining certified operations are

undergoing increased scrutiny. In 2016, imports from the Black Sea region

represented 49 percent of the dollar value of key commodities; in 2018, imports

from the region had dropped to 21 percent of that total dollar value. NOP staff are

watching for risk factors, such as spikes in exports from other regions, that could

trigger increased scrutiny.
Page 6

containers. In addition to providing evidence of the relabeling, the importer voluntarily shared 

that a similar shipment was on its way to Miami and would also be relabeled to remove organic 

claims. NOP is working with APHIS to expand this type of information sharing to other ports.

Upcoming Projects: Farm Bill Initiatives

The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) includes several provisions that directly 

support NOP oversight and enforcement work. Upcoming projects include:

• The Farm Bill establishes an “Organic Agricultural Product Imports Interagency Working 

Group,” to include AMS, APHIS and CBP for coordination, reporting and information 

sharing related to organic imports and integrity. Working group participants have been 

identified and will convene in June 2019.

• The Farm Bill calls for technological enhancements to improve the ability of CBP and 

NOP to target the illegal entry of organic products. NOP and CBP will initiate an organic 

import certificate project in the CBP primary import system known as the Automated 

Commercial Environment (ACE) database. These enhancements to ACE will ensure the 

capture of organic import data and make it easier for the U.S. government to monitor

organic imports as they enter the country.

• The Strengthening Organic Enforcement proposed rule will also implement a number of 

Farm Bill requirements into the USDA organic regulations, including minimizing 

exclusions from certification for handlers and requiring the use of import certificates.

• CBP and AMS have also worked together to outline needed changes to the CBP-AMS 

Memorandum of Agreement, which governs AMS access to data in customs’ systems. 

CBP provided significant guidance in identifying changes that will support current and 

future NOP research, reporting and investigations.

Dairy Compliance Project

In 2018, AMS initiated a Dairy Compliance Project to better assess industry compliance with the

USDA organic regulations, particularly with respect to the pasture standard. This initiative began

with face-to-face training on pasture compliance for certifiers in January 2018. This was

followed by unannounced, on-the-ground visits by Federal auditors to assess both certifier and

operation compliance.

Process

The project spanned the 2018 grazing season. Visits were conducted by AMS Auditors with

livestock oversight experience and NOP Compliance Specialists. For specific investigations,

NOP also collaborated with the USDA Office of Inspector General and Animal Plant Health

Inspection Services.

All AMS visits conducted for the Dairy Compliance Project were unannounced. The visits were

conducted at dairies across the United States. A risk-based approach was used to select the

participants; factors included size, previous compliance history, and farm characteristics such as

herd size.
Page 7

Outcomes

Findings from the 2018 Dairy Compliance Project have

implications for both policy and enforcement. The

unannounced visits highlighted a need for additional

certifier training in six key areas to ensure consistency:

• Defining the regional grazing season

• Reviewing justifications for allowed breaks in the

grazing season, like weather or disease

• Crop rotation and natural resource management

• Access to shade and water sources

• Evaluating livestock healthcare practices

• Conducting enough feed audits

The 2018 visits confirmed that all the targeted dairies demonstrated at least 120 days of grazing

and all cows received at least 30 percent dry matter intake (DMI) from pasture during the season.

However, several correctable issues were identified, requiring action from operations.

This work also resulted in targeted audits of certifiers based on their oversight of specific

livestock operations and non-compliances were issued to certifiers and operations. Where

supported by the evidence, investigations are ongoing at both the certifier and operation levels.

In addition, a significant civil penalty was levied against a livestock operation; that case is now

under appeal.

It was also determined that certifiers need to make sure they assign inspectors who have

sufficient expertise and experience with livestock operations to effectively and completely assess

the farms they evaluate, particularly for large complex dairy operations. New training on dairy

compliance and oversight will be launched in the Organic Integrity Learning Center in Summer

2019. In addition, NOP plans concentrated face-to-face training with certifiers in January 2020.

Based on the 2018 results, AMS is expanding the Dairy Compliance Project in 2019. NOP has

trained 12 auditors this Spring to prepare for the work and visits have already begun.

Conclusion

USDA is committed to setting a level playing field for all certified organic producers and

businesses.

Trust is the key to building and maintaining successful brands, organizations, and partnerships. 

For the organic industry, the USDA organic seal creates the foundation for that trust. Our top 

priority is protecting the value of the organic seal – a value that is directly related to our 

collective ability to effectively trace products across the supply chain, ensure the integrity of 

organic products, and rigorously enforce the standards worldwide to deter fraud.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Federal auditors performed

unannounced compliance visits to dairy

farms across the country during the 2018

grazing season based on several risk

factors, including heard size. 2019 visits

have already begun.