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CDFA’s organic enforcement duties expandCDFA’s organic enforcement duties expand

The system has benefited farmers, as well as consumers and others interested in the integrity of the system, official says.

Mitch Lies

January 31, 2025

3 Min Read
Scott Renteria
“We have enforcement models that we follow that identify high risks," said Scott Renteria, a special investigator for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.CDFA

The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s State Organic Program had seen its enforcement responsibilities increase since the USDA’s Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) provisions went into effect last March.

Scott Renteria, a special investigator with the program, said for example, the department is now helping ensure that entities formerly exempt from organic certification requirements, such as brokers who facilitate the sale of organic foods and inputs, are now meeting certification requirements.

Under SOE, Renteria said, brokers, processors and others must retain a copy of a farmer’s organic certification as proof of compliance, whereas in the past, that proof of certification was not always being retained, a fact that created a potential gap in the supply chain.

“From a regulatory perspective, it has enhanced our abilities to verify traceback by the new traceability documents,” he said. “It has really helped us in reviewing that information, because now operators are more aware of what records meet those requirements and it’s been more standardized. So, it’s helped refined the organic system, and helped refine the enforcement of the system.”

The department does surveillance monitoring with a planned number of inspections each year, Renteria said, and follows a plan that identifies where its activities can best be utilized.

Related:Organic official lauds cooperation on SOE

“We have enforcement models that we follow that identify high risks,” he said. An example of elevated risk, he said, is a farm that may farm conventionally and organically.

A red flag

Also, he said, when the State Organic Program knows it is difficult to produce a crop conventionally in a specific environment or area and finds a grower producing that crop organically, that sends up a red flag to verify organic production requirements are being followed.

“We have mechanisms in place to put our efforts where we feel they are most useful,” Renteria said.

The department also investigates organic operations based on complaints.

If a farm or other entity is in noncompliance, the department has the authority to conduct enforcement under both federal and state statues. Under state law, the department can issue civil penalties or other adverse types of action, including suspending or revoking certifications. He added that the department’s goal is to bring entities into compliance, but will issue penalties when appropriate.

“Just like the National Organic Program, the goal is to bring into compliance noncompliant operators and to protect the organic industry,” he said.

Related:Organic farm feeds students in more ways than one

Renteria added that the new requirements are helping ensure that organic standards are being met throughout the supply chain.

“What the SOE is doing is refining and clarifying requirements, and that includes the traceback in that supply chain,” Renteria said. “So, that verification of ensuring that certification was being obtained for each entity in the supply chain was not necessarily being kept at the broker level before. Now with the new SOE that closes a gap in that supply chain.”

The system has benefited farmers, as well as consumers and others interested in the integrity of the system, he said.

“As a farmer or handler, when you purchase an organic input, you are putting your trust in a broker that they are sourcing an organic product,” he said. “This has added a layer to protect the farmer that when that broker facilitated that sale, they have verification that not only was the supplier certified, but the broker was as well.”

About the Author

Mitch Lies

Mitch Lies is a freelance writer based in Oregon.

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