Fresh Take
Fresh Take is your roundup of all things related to organic and sustainable living. Join Florida Organic Growers staff and guest experts as we discuss everything you need to know about sustainable living, organic agriculture, and how to make the best lifestyle choices that benefit you and the environment. So if you’re an eco-warrior, a dedicated farmer, or just someone looking to make more conscious decisions, tune in to get your Fresh Take.
Fresh Take
Building Trust in USDA Certified Organic: Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE)
Can you trust what’s on your plate? In this episode of Fresh Take, we explore the critical role of maintaining integrity in USDA-certified organic products. We're joined by Orsi Dézsi, Executive Director and CEO of OMRI, who shares insights on how OMRI ensures organic inputs meet stringent standards and fortifies consumer trust in the organic label. Discover OMRI’s journey to listing 10,000 certified products and its pivotal role in guiding organic operations.
We also dive into the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) rule, designed to strengthens oversight and enforcement of the production, handling, and sale of organic products. Orsi discusses SOE’s impact on OMRI, particularly in processing aids now requiring organic certification, and highlights how USDA organic standards stand out among food labels.
Tune in and stay informed on the latest in organic certification and enforcement!
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Speaker 2:Welcome listeners to another insightful episode of Fresh Take. Today we're diving deep into the topic of building trust in USDA certified organic by taking a closer look at strengthening organic enforcement. With the rising demand for organic products, it's more important than ever to ensure that the standards and integrity of the USDA certified organic label are upheld and trusted by consumers and producers alike. To help us explore this critical issue, we are honored to welcome back a very special guest joining us today. The Executive Director and CEO of the Organic Materials Review Institute will discuss OMRI's role in strengthening organic enforcement, the challenges and opportunities in maintaining organic integrity, and how consumers can continue to trust the organic products they purchase. So, without further ado, welcome Orshi Deshi to the show.
Speaker 3:Thanks so much for inviting me to be on again, guys. I really enjoy talking with you and definitely I'm really passionate about this topic.
Speaker 2:Well, we are thrilled to have you and would love to learn more about your background and how that specifically played a role in your choosing of this career path of working with the regulatory community. Could you dive in a little bit deeper into that?
Speaker 3:regulatory community. Could you dive in a little bit deeper into that? Absolutely so. I've only been with OMRI for the past two years. Actually, the end of June marked my second year at OMRI.
Speaker 3:But I came to OMRI from an organization called NSF International, which is really well known for its food safety programs. So within NSF I managed our global business units that really centered around chemical compounds used in food processing and food handling. So if you think of, like, the food supply chain, think of all the things that happen to food and processing facilities, the lubricants, the various cleaners, those kinds of things that are always utilized and used, and so there's some regulatory components to that. And then also I was really active with food contact materials. So things like plastics or coatings that are used in different food contact applications, but not just in US regulations, so the 21 CFR that we see here, but also in European regulations, the 1925-2004 that's happening there, and then also some of the China regulations, the GB regulations, and so it's really interesting to see that regulatory world of food contact materials.
Speaker 3:And then now moving into the organic realm and really some of these materials coming back again to me in this organic world, but just on a personal level. I'm located in Ann Arbor, michigan, and it's organic is something that personally, to me, has always been very important. You know, my family and I have been part of our local organic CSA for gosh. It's been over 15 years now, and so I have two small kids and it's just really important for me that they understand where food comes from, how food is produced and you know apples actually grow on trees, they don't just appear in a grocery store and for them to be involved in that. So Omri has been such a great opportunity for me to really bridge some of that personal passion that I do have for organic with my professional background that I've had in the regulatory community for such a long time now.
Speaker 2:That's incredible that I've had in the regulatory community for such a long time now. That's incredible, I mean we you know very familiar with OMRI, being that you guys play a, you know, very pivotal role in organic certification by reviewing and approving products for use in organic production. People listening might not be so familiar with OMRI and what you do, so could you take a minute and tell us a little bit more about what exactly you guys review and how you ensure that these products meet organic standards?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. I often challenge my husband challenges me to describe what we do at OMRI in two sentences or less. But one of the things that when I'm talking to someone that doesn't know what Omri does, I always say to them think of your apple, think of your organic apple and I don't know why apple is my example today, but let's go with it guys. So think of your organic apple. What grows? And they're telling you that it is organic and you're assuming, yeah, it's organic, it came from a tree. But what goes into that apple? Does a farmer use any compost? Is it using any type of pest control? What is the coating on that apple?
Speaker 3:And so when you start thinking about what goes into growing that organic apple, that is the output. So all of that USDA certified labeling that you see is on the food itself. And then we've got this whole organization, which is OMRI, that really focuses on the inputs that go into organic food. So we really want to make sure that we're supporting the organic integrity by providing very clear guidance on those materials and inputs that are suitable for organic operations. So OMRI is a 501c3. We're a nonprofit. We were founded by certifiers and some key organic food manufacturers because they really needed an organization that could specialize and focus on these inputs. And, for me, where it became really impactful if you guys have ever attended one of the National Organic Standard Boards meetings, where they're constantly talking about the materials in use sunsetting materials, petitions for new materials and you don't recognize how present what we do at OMRI is until you really dig into some of those things.
Speaker 2:That makes a lot of sense and we want to congratulate you because we found out, you know, earlier this year you guys met a major milestone of listing 10,000 OMRI listed products that are reviewed and certified for organic use. So that's a really big deal.
Speaker 3:It's a huge deal and we were so excited about it.
Speaker 2:We reached out to our 10,000 product listee and we sent them like a whole little Omri care package because we were that excited of shows how long the history of organics has been around in this country, in the United States, and so it's something that I would like to jump into is some of the background of USDA organic certification and that significance for consumers. So what do you think is based on the history of organics in the US why it's so important to folks that are every day consuming organic products?
Speaker 3:That's a great question. One of the things that I really appreciate about the organic community and the USDA organic program is think of an industry that asks for more regulation is think of an industry that asks for more regulation. There is no other industry, I feel, outside of the USDA that is always asking for regulation. This is a community that is so dedicated to the integrity of organic food and the organic seal food and the organic seal. They want something to. They want that organic seal to really exude confidence to the organic consumer and trust and integrity.
Speaker 3:And when we think about the USDA organic program and the regulations, it's some of the most robust regulations in the world for organic food and I don't think people recognize that unless sometimes you're in it. And I think that's a very big point to get across. When you're thinking of the history of the organic program, how far the organic programs come, what we've done in the last few years with the USD organic program, it's fantastic and this is still again just an organization and an industry that consistently asks for further regulation. And one of the ways I see that really is with OMRI. If you think of all the inputs that are listed, omri is such a unique organization where we verify and validate these inputs, and that level of regulation isn't present everywhere. So it's just important, I think, to see that and note that and really hope that the rich history, the regulation does underpin the confidence in that organic label, that it's not just something that's ad hoc added to the products.
Speaker 4:And you know one of the things when I was talking to Lana earlier, when I knew that you were going to be, you know part of this episode and I was trying to take Omri. You know how are they involved Because we'll jump right into it the strengthening organic enforcement, which is the rule that, as we're talking about the integrity of the organic label, its purpose is to reduce fraud in the organic marketplace. And I think you were talking earlier when you're talking about your background and sort of working in that sort of supply chain. That sort of supply chain Because when we think about organic or agriculture in general, you know often, sometimes especially the people who really you know geeks about this like myself it's from seat to table. What does it take and you were alluding to it earlier to get that apple? You know from wherever that apple is being grown in Washington or Oregon. Wherever that apple is being grown in Washington or Oregon to, you know the shelves in the grocery stores or farmers markets, in places where they're selling them to the consumer's table. So it takes all this long you know process and various people and individuals and organizations to get that product to our tables. So SOE, once again, the Strengthening Organic Enforcers and I understand it is really trying to strengthen the already oversight of organic producers and handlers and the certification agencies and improve the capacity to enforce that the organic label and the regulations are compliant.
Speaker 4:One of the things that I tell people often and I think you were also alluding to it is what does that organic label really mean? We see so many labels on the food that we eat these days, whether it's low sodium, natural, low fat, free range pasture raised and all these other things, and I often like to ask, whenever I get the opportunity to you know, talk to students or people is to do you know what all of those definitions really mean? Is there an official definition? And often for some of these labels there isn't an official definition recognizing that it is actually being verified that it is compliant. But organic does, and that's very, very, very important. It doesn't matter if the product is being grown in the States or it's coming from overseas. If we're buying bananas from Ecuador or the Dominican Republic, are those organic bananas compliant with those organic regulations? So to me that's really important, very fascinating, but I digress because I've been rambling. So I just wanted to know how you maybe tell us a little bit about how OMRI is now involved with the USDA strengthening organic enforcement.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. And just to underpin what you're saying is I want people to recognize that SOE is one of the largest updates to the USDA organic regulations since 2002. And it is monumental. It was passed in the 2018 Farm Bill and the reason we're hearing about it so much this year especially I think every place we turn to it's all SOE is because the implementation happened this year and so what's really interesting in terms of the impact to OMRI versus the impact to organic food certifiers. So one of the things I just want to delineate here I talked a little bit earlier about that output being the organic food that bears the USDA organic label and what OMRI does as the inputs that really has the OMRI seal that is not a USDA label.
Speaker 3:So one of the biggest goals of the Strengthening Organic Enforcement Act is really the supply chain management which you alluded to. How do we maintain organic integrity across these really complex supply chains? So if we take the apple, for example, right so we've grown an organic apple, we know we've used inputs that are okay to use in organic apple production, we're certified by a certifier, or that we're growing an organic apple, but now that apple from Washington state is getting delivered to Michigan, to Texas, to anywhere in the United, maybe Canada? What is that distribution system? Does the distributor add something else to those apples to ensure its integrity during that journey? What happens there? And so it's every level of that supply chain, of this handling and processing.
Speaker 3:So I think the biggest impact that I've seen for OMRI is we've had definitely some inputs that have previously been listed as processing aids that we are now, as a result of SOE, pushing for organic certification. So there might be something like fruit coating Maybe it's made with organic ingredients, but OMRI doesn't have the structure that organic certifiers have to inspect the facility that might be making that food coating, to follow up on all of the various organic ingredients that happen. Or maybe there's like a defoamer that's made with some sort of an organic oil. Those now are no longer listed. With OMRI we're asking those to be listed as certified organic. Because, again with OMRI, we're asking those to be listed as certified organic, because, again with SOE, we're really looking to strengthen the supply chain and so these things just make sense to us, so that if a distributor or a handler or a processor is adding some of these things that could potentially end up in the final food, then that should also be looked at as an organic ingredient.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and you describe it just brings back memories.
Speaker 4:I used to and was lucky enough to be trained as an organic inspector, and so I would often inspect facilities, even if it was just a very simple, straightforward warehouse or a place where there was a line where the again, we keep talking about apples, which is a great example, you know being washed, but that facility, that packing house, is also doing conventional apples, for example.
Speaker 4:So the things that are used to clean the line or to clean the equipment before organic apples are run, it is important to know what they are. It's important that there's not going to be any residue or contamination that's going to come into contact with those organic apples when the organic apples are being cleaned and also packaged. So all of these things are so important, sometimes things that we don't really, as consumers, don't really think about. All the work and the various things that need to happen before you know that table or, excuse me, that apple gets to to you know, our player, to our table. It's extremely important. This is again part of, in some ways, as you were describing, made me think yeah, there are so many different things that can happen during that process that it is important for us to really make sure that we're making everything possible to maintain the organic integrity of those products.
Speaker 3:Let me just add in there as well. This is where it's really important when people look at that USDA organic label, that they understand that there is a really robust system in place to ensure that label. And SOE is just another example of how we're trying to increase the integrity of the USDA label, the robustness of that label and what's happening. And, as you mentioned, some of those other marks. You know there isn't that oversight necessarily or that robust oversight that we have with USDA organic.
Speaker 2:And speaking on that, you know, as someone who's also fairly new to the organic industry, I'm curious to know, or she, what are the actual steps that take place in order to actually maintain this organic integrity? What is involved in that?
Speaker 3:So I can certainly speak to you from an OMRI perspective in terms of what we do with inputs, how we review them. I mean, we definitely dig pretty deep in terms of full formulations, down to ingredient level, mixtures, ongoing compliance to ensure that things don't change in those formulations. There's also audits or inspections that we can do. We do inspect certain products annually, but from an organic certification perspective, what a manufacturer of organic food goes through is incredibly robust. There's typically an organic system plan that they have in place. They work directly with a certifier to ensure that everything that they're using and doing with their facility the risk management tools that they have in place to maintain the integrity of organics is in place. They are subject to inspections annually, some more than once, and so there's quite a bit of work that goes into that. And I want you guys to think about and this is something we hear Jenny Tucker talk a lot about too at the USDA is sometimes the burden of that for smaller talk a lot about too at the USDA is sometimes the burden of that for smaller manufacturers. And so one of the things that's so great about the funding USDA has recently gotten, and some of the top dollars is that we're really able to connect those small farmers with resources to help them with some of that burden and really start focusing on how we reduce that, how to make that better and easier for them as well. So it's definitely not a rubber stamp. There's quite a few steps that go into ensuring that final product and sometimes we're asking folks that you know you might have someone that's you know has.
Speaker 3:Let's keep with the apple example. It's going well for us, someone that has a small orchard and that's what they do. They grow apples. They have a small crew of folks that do that and their expertise is growing apples and now they have to pivot to make sure that their data, that they have all the data that they need, they have the monitoring in place, the systems in place, and so it's a big ask sometimes and I'm really glad that we have some more resources from USDA to help those smaller guys be able to come into organics a little bit easier.
Speaker 2:Absolutely complex and the effort it takes to combat this. You know cases of organic fraud and reduce transparency in the market have taken place through several various mechanisms, including the required use of electronic import certificates, strengthening of record keeping and, you know, oversight of accredited certifying agencies. So I'd like to also go into who specifically is being impacted by SOE. Can you clarify what types of key players along the supply chain might be actually impacted by this final rule?
Speaker 3:That's a great question and I think, something that's really important to keep in mind. I would argue that the biggest impact, if you think of the supply chain, is definitely to the handlers, processors and distributors Folks that previously did not have to be certified organic now have to be certified organic. So then think of the impact of that down the line. So you've got processors, handlers, distributors that haven't historically had to be certified organic. Now they're seeking organic certification. So we have certifiers that where anyone with certifier friends I think can definitely appreciate this that have been really incredibly busy and have had a bit of a backlog that they're trying to get through busy and have had a bit of a backlog that they're trying to get through, especially with the deadline that there was in March to get these distributors and handlers into, get them certified and make sure that the resources were there. So it means now that we've got a whole new community of folks that are certified organic, which means, think of that.
Speaker 3:You've got the certifiers that are certified organic, which means, think of that, you've got the certifiers that are proven certified organic. You have to have inspectors to be able to inspect those facilities. Juan Carlos, I'm sure you can speak to that, and so when you flood the certifiers with this insane growth, these other things become impacted as well. I do think we're out on the other side. We're on the other side of it and it's, and like I feel like my certifier folks are able to kind of take a deep breath. Now it's feeling better, but I know that it felt really daunting as they were going through those motions.
Speaker 4:And I think one of the things that, once again, I think it's important for our listeners to understand and you were just indicating that, while in the past, distributors and handlers typically and the reason why is, as I understand it, we're not being required to be certified organic to be certified organic is that often some of these distributors and handlers were not actually handling Handling the food.
Speaker 4:The food, yeah, they were just distributing. So it was a lot of paperwork, it was a lot of things that were happening while the apples were being moved from Washington to and through the various places that they would stop and all these other things. But then who is responsible at some point? We have to make sure, since in a supply chain, everybody should be responsible. I think it's important to keep that in mind, as we have now strengthening the supply chain, and one thing that keeps you alluded to it, and also Lana was just mentioned is fraud, because unfortunately that happens. Organic is such a strong label that we know that every now and then, there's going to be individuals or people who are just going to take advantage of the fact that you know there's a demand for that product, and that is another thing that we want to obviously prevent, you know, through the strengthening of the organic enforcement.
Speaker 3:You know, one of the things I do just want to mention, as a follow-up too, is these handlers and distributors. You know we use the Apple example here in the United States, but I think it's probably a better example to use the bananas from Ecuador. The most impacted industries is really the the international distributors and handlers, and that is and this is the other part that I think SOE is so valuable. So part of it is yes, we want to increase trust in that USDA organic certification 100%, but then let's also make sure that distributors, handlers and product coming in from other countries to the United States are on the same playing field as those folks here, and that's where a biggest part of our broad is for organics.
Speaker 2:It's those products coming in from outside of the United States, and so we want to make sure that they are subject to the same regulations, the same systems and the double checks that we know that our organic food producers are here domestically of today's episode is you know understanding that USDA organic certification really came about to ensure that trust was being built between the producers and the consumers, and so I want to know, you know, what is OMRI's role currently in making sure that suppliers stay informed and compliant and can continue to trust this process?
Speaker 3:Absolutely, and that's a really great question. At Omri, we have a really robust communication plan really with our input suppliers. We have the input manufacturers. We're really ahead of SOE. Clearly, they were asking a lot of questions and so we were able to provide real-time information. A lot of our input manufacturers weren't significantly affected by this.
Speaker 3:However, we have stakeholders certifiers that are always looking to OMRI for direction on inputs. So just ensuring that we're working really closely with those stakeholders as well for any changes and working together to see will this you know, if something comes up with an input and a certifier is having an issue, OMRI is there to help them, to talk through that, to provide our expertise as well, and we participate in the ACA groups, even though OMRI is not considered an accredited certifier. We are accredited to do input reviews, but we really want to be there and continue to be there as a resource for the manufacturers making the inputs and providing them real-time information on what changes need to happen or don't need to happen. Sometimes it's just as important to tell people we've got this, we're hearing about SOE, we're on top of it right now. There's no impact to you. So that is just as important as that same communication that we have with the certifiers and some of the stakeholders as well.
Speaker 4:One of the things and I wanted to just also because this is such a fascinating subject in so many ways for consumers the consumers listening and farmers. You know, organic farmers often already know this. The certifiers, organic certification agencies and OMRI are typically in regular communication. Omri puts out a list regularly about inputs that either have been reformulated or you know because they're working with those companies. Either have been reformulated or you know because they're working with those companies, and if the formulation or for whatever reason, a particular input that a farmer has used and that was reviewed by OMRI changes, we need to know that and we by we I mean the certifiers and the farmers.
Speaker 4:And so the certifiers then notify the farmer and say oh, by the way, this input that was previously approved or that has been deemed allowed under the organic regulations Because, as we know and again those of us that understand the organic regulations and organic inspectors or consumers for the most part natural inputs are what's allowed in organic systems. So again, we just Not synthetic items Correct.
Speaker 4:Exactly, exactly. So that is so important in that constant communication between OMRI, the certifiers and farmers is what's enabling us, as we've been discussing throughout the episode, to really continue to ensure that the organic label and you mentioned Jennifer Tucker, who is the deputy administrator at the National Organic Program and in a recent speech that she gave at Organic Food Summit that is, the goal of the National Organic Program is to continue to maintain the integrity of that organic label. So that is very important and we just want to once again remind everybody who's listening that that is our job, all of us involved. Organic Grow is an educator organization that promotes and supports organic. That's what we do, omri, by reviewing materials and making sure that those materials are, you know, compliant with the organic regulations and, of course, the farmers who are actually growing our food. It takes all of us to make sure that you know we are maintaining that organic label.
Speaker 3:And I think to underpin that as well is what an incredible industry this organic industry is, where you have a whole plethora of certifiers, you have material review organizations like OMRI and we, but there's this community and collaboration that we're all working really towards that same goal and that's really refreshing in any type of industry to see that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree with that. I think the collaboration piece is something that we often stray away from when talking about the food industry and it's something that you know is critical, I think, for the future of sustainable food. And in speaking of that, you know, I'd like to just recap the importance of today's episode and talking about SOEs, strengthening organic enforcement as an added layer, you know, building that trust that the organic certification label has already built, and really relying on, you know, the work that you have done at OMRI to really provide clear guidance on materials suitable for organic operations. So, orishi, can you share where people might be able to find more about OMRI and SOE?
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. If you go just to our website OMRIorg, that's O-M-R-Iorg, all of our resources are listed on that website, and so you can find information about how to become OMRI listed, what's required in an OMRI listing, and then also our overlap and supporting of SOE, which I think is really important, and all located there.
Speaker 2:Perfect, and for folks listening that want to learn more about USDA organic certification, please feel free to check out wwwamsusdagov. That's where you will find the Agricultural Marketing Service that lists all of the information that you need to know really about organic certification. And that wraps up today's episode about strengthening organic enforcement. A huge, huge thank you to our guest, orshi Deshi, for sharing valuable insights into the crucial work being done to uphold and strengthen the integrity of organic certification.
Speaker 3:Thanks so much for having me. I really appreciate the time.
Speaker 2:And, as we've learned today, building and maintaining trust in the USDA-certified organic label requires vigorous standards, thorough review processes and ongoing vigilance. Thanks to organizations like OMRI, consumers can have confidence that organic products they choose truly meet these high standards To our listeners, thank you for joining us on this journey to better understand the complexities and importance of organic enforcement. Remember your choices as consumers play a vital role in supporting and maintaining the integrity of organic farming. Until next time, stay informed and stay committed to sustainable choices.
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