The USDA’s National Organic Program said it revoked the certification of a Turkish company because it exported soybeans certified as “organic” to the United States that had been treated with pesticides. The action came after the Washington Post last month revealed that significant U.S. imports of both corn and soybeans had been labeled organic when they were not.
Under organic rules, agricultural products must meet certain requirements to be certified as organic. In this case, the Turkish company asserted that the shipments were organic and originated in Russia, which was false. The NOP stated that the Turkish company “sent a letter to the NOP acknowledging that Beyaz Agro exported conventional, fumigated soybeans from Ukraine instead of the organic, Russian soybeans represented in organic certification documents.”
The Washington Post reported that the Organic Trade Association, the main body of the organic food industry, was creating an anti-fraud task force to “develop methods for companies to ensure that imports of organic products are actually organic.”
The OTA said it applauded the action by the NOP. “OTA also commends USDA for committing to improving the timely and detailed communication on critical compliance issues to the trade. Fraud cannot be tolerated in the organic system, inside or outside of the United States.” It added: “The oversight of foreign organic suppliers and the enforcement of organic standards must be rigorous and robust.”
The Post quoted John Bobbe, executive director of the Organic Farmers’ Agency for Relationship Marketing, a farmer cooperative, who said members of the OTA have benefited from the lower prices on organic corn and soybeans.
USDA Organic rules require organic livestock producers to feed their animals organic grain and forage. But with supplies tight in the U.S., demand has been rising for organic grain such as corn and soybeans from overseas. Organic industry players grew suspicious because the prices of these imports were so low. Although those low prices benefited the organic livestock industry, they undercut the prospects for U.S.-grown supplies.