Feb 14, 2020
Uncertified organic claims more than half of NOP enforcement caseload
Uncertified organic claims more than half of the National Organics Program’s (NOP) current enforcement caseload.
The NOP provides quarterly updates on its enforcement of the National Organic Standards. According to the most recent report, the NOP had a total of 465 cases in progress as of December 31, 2019. Uncertified organic claims made up more than half of those cases at 55% with prohibited practices (8%), pesticide residue (8%) and (7%) also among the more common types of cases.
A total of 487 cases were closed in the 2019 calendar year, according to the quarterly report. Thirty-eight percent of the cases were closed by voluntary compliance, while 21% were determined to have no violation, and 15% were closed by “Administrative Actions.”
The NOP also gave some insight into its ongoing pasture surveillance project. Farms determined to be at risk based on size, geographic location and history, are being audited unannounced. Most dairies were found to be in compliance, but several did face enforcement activity.
The new look features the enforcement data in a series of colorful graphs and infographics published in a PDF.
“Based on your feedback, today we are updating the way we provide the quarterly numbers,” according to the NOP’s Organic Insider newsletter. “Going forward, we’ll focus more on outcomes rather than process and provide graphs that make it easier to see at a glance how the numbers relate to one another. We have also made the new format easy to share.”
Individual enforcement actions, such as fraudulent certificates, settlement summaries, administrative decisions, administrative law judge decisions and judicial officer decisions – will continue to be on the Organic Enforcement web page.
