FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Joe Mendelson
August 5, 2004
Center for Food Safety
(202) 547-9359
USDA Sued Over Secrecy of Organic Agriculture Records
Agency Refuses To Provide Documentation on Those It Has Allowed to Certify
Organic Food
Washington, DC q In order to address the growing threat to the integrity of
national organic food standards, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) today
filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in U.S.
District Court. The lawsuit seeks release of documents detailing the
qualifications and background of the organic food certifiers that it allows
to participate in the national organic food program.
Appropriate certification of organic farms is the fundamental enforcement
mechanism of organic food standards. Fueling public concern over a reduction
in the integrity of the new lorganicn label is the appearance of numerous
new, previously unknown certifying agents applying to the USDA for
accreditation. Since 2000, the number of organic certifying agents has
jumped from 49 to over 120. This unexpected increase in the number of
accreditation applicants raises troubling questions about possible lshamn
certifiers and the USDA's ability to properly assess the qualifications of
the large volume of new certifiers seeking accreditation.
Recent accounts of inconsistent and potentially illegal clarifications on
organic standards from the USDA calls into question whether the agency is
adequately reviewing and scrutinizing all organic certifying agents it has
allowed into the national organic program. In an effort to ensure that USDA
is not allowing lshamn certifiers into the organic program, in June of 2002,
CFS filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking all USDA documents
used in reviewing the application of certifiers to participate in the
program. For over two years the USDA has stonewalled and refused to provide
CFS with the documents.
lUSDA's failure to release these documents threatens the integrity of the
lorganicn label,n stated Joseph Mendelson, CFS Legal Director. lThe decision
on who is to certify organic produce needs to be in full view of the public,
where it cannot be influenced by large corporate interests.n
lThe refusal to provide these records is another step in the Bush
Administration's attempt to cut the public out of the debate concerning
organic foods,n continued Mendelson.
lConsumers and organic producers want to ensure that use of the organic
label adheres to a high standard,n Mendelson concluded.
Center for Food Safety works to protect human health and the environment by
curbing the proliferation of harmful food production technologies and by
promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture
For more information contact:
Center for Food Safety, 660 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20003
www.centerforfoodsafety.orgJoseph Mendelson III
Legal Director
International Center for Technology Assessment &
the Center for Food Safety
660 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Suite 302
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 547-9359
(202) 547-9429 fax
