Summary of Counter-Arguments:
| - Fraud will never be completely eradicated, but organic certification is currently the best quality insurance system of the whole food market and is continuously adapted to changing conditions. - Other claims (such as “natural,” “eco-friendly,” or “integrated production”) are not substantiated and can mislead the consumer, while the term “organic” and the organic label truly reflect the application of organic standards. |
Details of Counter-Arguments:
Fraud is a phenomenon that can never be completely eliminated in our society. Likewise, the organic market, which currently has the best quality management system of the entire food market, cannot completely prevent fraud. However, detection of each case of fraud contributes to the improvement of organic certification because its quality assurance system is adaptive. Moreover, the organic certification procedures are designed to reduce the risk of fraud to the smallest possible level. There are many levels at which those who cheat the organic certification system can and do get caught: during the farm inspection visit (some of which are unannounced), during review of their written documentation by the certification body, or during the controls often performed by retail and trade quality managers. Major violations (such as the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers) lead to the immediate withdrawal of the farmer’s certificate and removal of the products from the organic supply chain. Certification bodies are themselves subject to control by accreditation bodies. In fact, many certification bodies have deliberately set standards that are higher than their respective national regulations, demonstrating a true concern for the integrity of organic systems. In addition, the organic sector has a particularly strong history of social control between organic farmers themselves, but also between the farmers and organic consumers (especially in participatory guarantee systems at the local level, but also in other set-ups such as consumer-producer cooperatives and agro-tourism). Organic regulations that are currently in place are legally-binding standards that ensure that anybody having observed a fraudulent use of the organic label can file a judiciary case against the producer or whichever other agent is involved in the fraud.
Despite these many levels of control, the sector is aware that the organic certification guarantee is never perfect and can always be improved. Particular attention is given to the fraud topic by many actors within the organic sector including organic certification bodies under the Certification Body Forum hosted by IFOAM, organic retailers (for example in the US under the National Cooperative Grocers Association [3]), consultancies, research institutions, and other supporting organizations as demonstrated by a recent workshop organized on this topic in Switzerland [4]. These efforts ensure that the organic sector will keep a cutting-edge quality control system in the face of evolving consumer needs and emerging sector-specific challenges.
The main problem is not the few cases of organic farmers who disregard organic regulations. The main problem is rather the attempts made by conventional producers and processors to take advantage of organic agriculture’s good image by giving the impression that their products are organic. Usually only the term “organic” (or its translation in other languages) is protected by legislation, but many product packaging attempts to mislead the consumer by displaying vague phrases such as “farm fresh eggs,” “produced naturally,” “integrated production,” “extensive cultivation,” “eco-friendly,” as well as other terms. These do not guarantee the rigorous methods of organic production. They are just various forms of conventional agriculture and a marketing strategy to surf on the organic wave.
[1] See http://www.ncga.coop/node/3053 for more information.
[2] First European Workshop for the Prevention of Fraud, held on October 2nd and 3rd at the Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Frick, Switzerland, with 60 experts from trading companies, label organizations, certification bodies, authorities, and others attending.