The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP) protects the integrity of the USDA organic label and supports fair competition by overseeing the organic market and taking enforcement actions (called adverse actions) when violations are found.
The NOP is changing how we post enforcement actions. The new approach expands the types of notices we post and makes postings more frequent.
Actions related to organic enforcement that we already post include:
- Settlement Agreements - Issued to resolve proposed adverse actions and to bring a certifier or operator into full compliance in a fast and efficient manner
- AMS Decisions – Issued when a certifier or operator appeals an adverse action, and the AMS Administrator sustains or denies the appeal.
- Administrative Law Judge Decisions - Issued when a USDA Administrative Law Judge makes a decision related to the USDA organic regulations.
- USDA Judicial Officer Decisions - Issued when the USDA Judicial Office makes a decision related to an organic operation or accredited certifier.
The NOP previously posted these actions on a quarterly basis, concurrent with posting our Quarterly Enforcement Report. Starting in June 2017, we are posting these on a rolling basis, so new Notices will be posted within 1-2 weeks of being issued.
We are also adding the following adverse actions to our postings:
- Notice of Suspension or Revocation issued by NOP – Issued when AMS-NOP suspends or revokes a certifier or certified operation. Posted under: AMS Decisions
All enforcement actions are available from links at the base of: https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/enforcement/organic.
