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| Announcement | November 14, 2013 | |
| Greetings!
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) wants to alert the organic trade and public to the presence of two fraudulent organic certificates. |
| Alert: Fraudulent Organic Certificates | | |
Fraudulent organic certificates listing the following businesses are in use and have recently been reported to AMS:
View All Posted Fraudulent Organic Certificates
These certificates falsely represent agricultural products as certified organic under the USDA organic regulations. Using these certificates or other fraudulent documents to market, label, or sell non-organic agricultural products as organic can result in a civil penalty of up to $11,000 per violation.
If you have information about the production or use of these or other fraudulent USDA organic certificates, please send information to our Compliance and Enforcement Division.
Fraudulent certificates may have been created and used without the knowledge of the operator or the certifying agent named in a certificate. The posting of fraudulent certificates does not necessarily mean that the named operator or certifying agent was involved in illegal activity. If an operation named in a fraudulent certificate is certified, its certifying agent identified in the list of certified operations can provide additional information and verifications to the organic trade.
The vigilance of the organic community is vital force in ensuring organic integrity. Organic handlers should continue to review certificates carefully, validate with certifying agents where needed, and send any suspicious certificates to the Compliance and Enforcement team.
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| About the Agricultural Marketing Service | | |
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) facilitates the competitive and efficient marketing of agricultural products. Through its National Organic Program, AMS facilitates trade and ensures the integrity of organic agricultural products by consistently implementing organic standards and enforcing compliance with the regulations throughout the world. Learn more. |
| About the USDA Organic Insider | | |
The USDA Organic Insider informs the organic community on a wide range of functions, including regulatory updates, requests for public comments, and USDA programs and services.
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