Organic food imports plagued by ‘corruption, bribery and falsified documents’

Roughly 40% of all organic food sold in America tests positive for prohibited pesticides, according to two USDA studies.

And, as previously reported, Mischa Popoff, a former USDA organic inspector, has long railed that certified U.S. organic marketers are too often “given a pass” on meeting strict organic standards. He also contends that much of that 40% could be coming from overseas.

Roughly 80% of all organic food sold in America is now imported from countries like China, Turkey, Mexico and Brazil. He submits there may be a causal relationship — bribery and fraudulent claims — extending far beyond organic foods.

A recent Brazilian incident reported by Food & Water Watch lends credence to that claim. F&WW called on USDA to revoke the equivalency food safety determination for Brazilian meat exports to the U.S.

“This latest revelation of corruption — bribery, using chemicals to cover up rotten meat, sending salmonella-contaminated meat to Europe and falsifying health certificates — comes after past problems with the country’s equivalent inspections system,” noted Wenonah Hauter, F&WW executive director. She, too, contends that falsified documents and inspection bribery are rampant.

Fraudulent organic certification is nothing new, but is on the rise. A recent online report by USDA’s National Organic Program offered a long list of fraudulent organic certificates. Imports on that list come from all over the world. Brazil, China, India, Malaysia and South Africa are some of the most common countries of origin.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Organic labeling fraud is booming