USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 

National Organic Program (NOP) 

Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) 

Final Rule Introduction

Jennifer Tucker, Ph.D.

Deputy Administrator

National Organic Program

February 2023
Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) Final Rule 

Today’s Points of 

Emphasis: 

• Background

• What’s in the Rule

• What’s Next

Approaching 

the Rule: 

• Think About Your 

Roadmap, Approach, and 

Goals 

• Key: Critical Thinking and 

Project Management 

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Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) Final Rule 

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GOAL: Protect organic integrity and bolster 

consumer confidence in the USDA organic seal 

Reduce the number of 

uncertified entities

Strengthen recordkeeping 

and supply chain traceability

Strengthen oversight of 

accredited certifiers

Require use of electronic 

import certificates
Why Is SOE Needed?

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Organic supply chains have become increasingly 

complex, leading to documented cases of organic 

fraud and gaps in oversight.

The SOE final rule implements many National Organic 

Standards Board recommendations.

SOE implements provisions from the 2018 Farm Bill.
Who Does SOE Affect?

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USDA accredited certifiers

Organic inspectors

Commodity brokers, traders, 

exporters to the U.S., and 

importers who are not certified 

organic

Producers

Processors

Consumers
SOE Overview: Key Provisions 

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Reduces the types of 

uncertified entities

Requires NOP Import 

Certificates

Clarifies the NOP’s authority to 

oversee certification activities

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Requires operations to: 

 Improve recordkeeping and 

fraud prevention procedures

 Conduct supply chain 

traceability audits 

 Share specific information

 Label nonretail containers to 

preserve organic identity and 

be traceable to records

Clarifies how operations: 

 May submit changes to 

organic system plans

 Calculate the percentage of 

organic ingredients

Requires certifiers to: 

 Issue standardized 

operation certificates from 

Organic Integrity Database

 Meet specific inspector 

qualifications and training 

requirements 

 Conduct unannounced 

inspections of at least 5% of 

the operations they certify 

 Complete mass-balance 

audits during inspections

 Verify traceability during 

inspections

 Establishes requirements for 

producer group operations 

(grower groups)

 Clarifies conditions and 

requirements for equivalence 

determinations with foreign 

government organic 

programs

 Clarifies that NOP may initiate 

enforcement action against 

uncertified operations

 Clarifies appeals and 

mediation processes
Highlighted Changes from Proposed Rule

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 Revised exemptions from certification to align better with 

Organic Foods Production Act.

 Clarified use of NOP Import Certificates and offered more 

certificate options to reduce paperwork burden.

 Simplified recordkeeping, traceability, and labeling 

requirements.

 Clarified the training/experience requirements for certifying 

agent personnel.

 Allowed livestock production in producer groups to be 

consistent with international standards.

PROPOSED RULE

FINAL RULE
Strengthening 

Organic 

Enforcement 

Final Rule: 

“Overview of 

Amendments” 

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A. Applicability and Exemptions from Certification

B. Imports to the United States

C. Labeling of Nonretail Containers

D. On-Site Inspections

E. Certificates of Organic Operation

F. Continuation of Certification

G. Paperwork Submissions to the Administrator

H. Personnel Training and Qualifications

I. Oversight of Certification Activities

J. Accepting Foreign Conformity Assessment Systems

K. Compliance and Noncompliance Procedures

L. Mediation

M. Adverse Action Appeal Process

N. Producer Group Operations

O. Calculating the Percentage of Organic Ingredients

P. Supply Chain Traceability & Organic Fraud Prevention

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More types of 

businesses in the 

organic supply chain 

must be certified 

organic.  Importers

 Exporters

 Commodity 

Brokers

 Traders

These may include businesses engaged 

in buying, selling, or negotiating the 

sale of organic products, such as:

A. Applicability and Exemptions from Certification
A. Applicability and Exemptions from Certification

• Any operation that produces or handles organic 

products must be certified, unless they are exempt.

• Handle includes trade, export, import, or facilitate 

the sale or trade of an organic product. 

• Some supply chain intermediaries that currently do 

not require certification, such as traders, commodity 

brokers, or importers, must become certified.

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SOE expands the types of operations 

that must be certified.
A. Applicability and Exemptions from Certification

• SOE allows limited exemptions for some low-risk businesses.

• An operation with annual sales less than $5000

• A retail establishment that does not process the organic 

products, or only processes them at point of final sale

• Some shipping and handling operations, under very limited 

conditions (e.g., they only handle products sealed in tamperevident packaging)

• Customs brokers

• Exempt businesses are only exempt from certification. They 

still have handling and recordkeeping requirements.

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B. Imports to the U.S.: Electronic Import Certificates

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Certifiers and 

operations must use the 

electronic NOP Import 

Certificate for organic 

products imported to 

the U.S. 

 The Import Certificate provides 

traceability to the port of entry 

and ensures an auditable record 

trail.

 Import certificates will be generated 

in NOP’s Organic Integrity Database 

and entered into CBP import system.
B. Imports to the U.S.: Electronic Import Certificates

• Certifiers will generate the import certificates in the Organic Integrity 

Database, using requests provided by exporters to the U.S. 

• This means some exporters outside U.S. will need to get certified, even if not 

required by that country’s organic scheme.

• NOP will work with other country governments to facilitate inclusion of 

certifiers under other schemes in the Organic Integrity Database. 

• Certificates may be issued that cover single or multiple shipments or a time 

period – issuances will depend on the certifiers’ oversight system.

• NOP is building the technology now and will conduct training when 

launched – this will be during the implementation period. 

• Certifiers need to focus on evolving their organic control systems to make 

sure that it only generates certificates for validated organic product.

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Clarify Recordkeeping Requirements

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 Maintain records that trace products back to the last certified operation (P) 

– This is another key benefit of getting everyone in your supply chain 

certified! 

 Document the monitoring practices used to prevent fraud and verify 

suppliers and products (P)

 Clearly identify products as organic on records and labels (C, P)

 Submit updates to OSPs during certification renewal (F)

Certified operations:
Clarify Certifier Oversight of Supply Chains 

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 Describe the procedures used to identify operations and products at 

high risk of organic fraud (P)

 Conduct supply chain traceability audits to verify the compliance 

and chain of custody of high-risk products (P)

 Share compliance-related information about certified operations 

with other certifiers (P)

 Keep updated operation data – yes, including acreage! – in the 

Organic Integrity Database (G)

Certifiers:
Clarify and Standardize Inspection Requirements 

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Certifiers:

 Conduct unannounced inspections of at least 5% of operations 

they certify annually (D)

 Conduct mass-balance audits and verify product traceability

during on-site inspections (D)

 Conduct full on-site inspections once per year (F)

 Use inspectors and certification reviewers that meet qualifications 

and training requirements (H)

 Implement grower group requirements (N)
Other Regulatory Changes

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Strengthens oversight of certifier “satellite offices” (I)

Standardizes certificates of organic operation (E) 

Clarifies mediation and appeals processes and 

procedures for resolving noncompliance issues (K, L, M)

Codifies organic equivalence determination procedures (J)

Clarifies how to calculate the percentage of organic 

ingredients in multi-ingredient products (O)
Implementation

All businesses must comply with the final rule 14 months 

after publication: March 19, 2024.

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First Steps for Affected Organizations 

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• Reading what and why points to how

• Determine provisions that apply to you 

Read the Rule

• Assess control system update needs 

• Communicate need to get certified 

across supply chain

Assess Systems & 

Supply Chain 

• Implement control system updates

• Communicate, cascade, train, repeat

Design 

Implementation Plan 
Do You Need to Get Certified? 

Adopt organic 

practices, select 

certifier, apply

Application 

Review

On-Site 

Inspection

Full Review for 

Compliance

Certification 

Approval or 

Denial

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https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/organic-certification/becoming-certified

Start Soon to Complete Certification by March 19, 2024! 
What NOP Will Be Doing in Implementation Period 

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EARLY

• Publicize rule publication 

• Outreach to trade on need for 

certification 

• Continue to develop import 

certificate technology (well 

underway!) 

• Assess outreach and training needs 

for Learning Center 

• Assess & begin updating NOP 

control systems across program

LATER

• Implement NOP control system 

updates

• Launch training where most needed 

• Launch import certificate 

technology with certifiers & trade 

partners 

• Update NOP Handbook and existing 

training 

• Work with trade partners to update 

arrangements 
We Also Continue to Protect Existing Regulations! 

USDA 

(Many Agencies)

Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP)

Department of 

Justice (DOJ) 

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Training and 

Outreach to Build 

Capabilities

Surveillance 

(Operations, 

Certifiers, Sectors, 

Countries)

Complaint 

Investigations & 

Resulting Actions

Certifier Directives, 

Testing and Related 

Actions

Loss of Certification 

(Suspension, 

Revocation) under 

NOP 

Legal Penalties 

Covered by 

Trademark 

Protections 

Significant 

Fees and Fines 

(Civil Penalties)

Prison Time 
Effectively Launching SOE – Part of NOP’s 2023 Goals

Grow and develop the 

organic sector through 

transition initiatives and 

technical assistance

Develop and implement 

organic standards through 

open, transparent, 

collaborative processes

Protect organic integrity 

through strong oversight 

systems

Protect organic integrity 

through robust enforcement

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USDA Agricultural Marketing Service | National Organic Program ‹#›

Organic Integrity From Farm to Table

Consumers Trust the Organic Label 

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