USDA Ditches Organic Food Inspector in China

by Tara Lohan · 2010-06-14 14:30:00 UTC
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The USDA's certified 'Organic' stamp of approval carries a lot of weight with consumers. When you're trying to sort through all the processed, chemical-laden garbage at the grocery store, that green seal acts as a beacon. But there is increasing reason to be concerned about the label, especially when it comes to "organic" food grown in China.

China is the birthplace of many of our consumer goods, and it's also the origin of a whole bunch of our food, some of which the USDA has been certifying as organic with the help of privately hired inspectors. Today the New York Times revealed that the USDA is now banning a company, Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA), that's acted as a leading inspector of organic food entering the U.S. market from China. Apparently OCIA's business arrangements are all kinds of shady. According to the Times article, the organization hired individuals who work for Chinese government agencies to inspect farms and food processing plants that are controlled by the state—a lot like the fox guarding the hen house.

Concern over organic food from China has been building for years. Whole Foods was slammed in an ABC news broadcast in 2008 for including a Chinese-imported organics in its 365 Organic brand products, including California Blend frozen vegetables. Yep, they were selling 'California' veggies that were actually grown in China. And this is coming from a grocer that is supposed to be one of the most eco-friendly and transparent in the marketplace.

Since that time Whole Foods has been trying to source its food elsewhere, and according to the Times article, the company has gone from 30 items containing organic ingredients from China to just two by the end of the year. What's apparent from the ABC video is that so many consumers have no idea that they're eating food from China. It's really infuriating, actually: People actually go out of their way to seek out an organic label, only to find later on that the seal couldn't be trusted. How can we expect folks to galvanize around the organic food movement when there's no accountability in the certification process?

So what kind of actions will the USDA take now to ensure that food grown overseas is adequately inspected? While China may now be under a fair bit of scrutiny (especially because of other health scandals involving Chinese goods) organic foods are inspected in and imported from many other countries, too. OCIA itself has nearly 2,000 other operations in 11 countries. Just one more reason for consumers to buy from growers that they know and shop at local farmers' markets.

Photo credit: Tim Psych

Tara Lohan is a senior editor at AlterNet.org where she heads up the environment, water, and food sections. Her work has appeared on the websites of The Nation, Mother Jones, the Huffington Post and in Yes! Magazine.
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