The Global Supply Chain Integrity Task Force convened by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) has been set up to address consequences regarding the recent violations of the USDA organic regulations. The Washington Post investigations revealed that a considerable amount of non-organic soybean and corn was exported from Ukraine and Romania via Turkey to the United States. By the time the shipments reached there, products were fraudulently sold as certified USDA/NOP organic. The Task Force’s mandate is to develop a best practice guide to use in managing and verifying global organic supply chain integrity to help brands and traders manage and mitigate the risk and occurrence of organic fraud. The task force, which now numbers nearly 60 Organic Trade Association members and staff, is one of the largest ever set up by the trade association, and underlines the interest of the sector to tackle and prevent future fraud. Laura Batcha, CEO and Executive Director of OTA points to the integrity in supply chains when saying “… A second potential component involves using new technology to modernize the approach to verification — which relies on accepting audit certificates — so there is traceability all the way back to the farm …Parallel to the OTA’s Task Force, the Accredited Certifiers Association (ACA) established the ‘General Traceability Working Group’ to tackle Supply Chain transparency challenges, including imports, reacting to the scam as well. Frank Gerriets with his long-standing experience in certification and working with certifiers globally contributes to this important task as member of the working group.
Resources & Background
- · Politico article on OTA Task Force
- · OTA takes action on fraudulent imports