The Organic Trade Association's fraud prevention program is drawing robust interest from organic businesses as the sector readies for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's upcoming new rules to strengthen oversight of organic imports and the supply chain.

Forty organic businesses are currently enrolled in the trade association’s Organic Fraud Prevention Solutions program, with another 125 companies beginning the process of enrollment in the benchmark program.

“The organic sector is committed to maintaining the integrity of organic, and we are glad to see companies taking advantage of the valuable tool we’ve developed to help them in their battle against fraud,” Gwendolyn Wyard, Vice President of Regulatory & Technical Affairs for the Organic Trade Association said.

“Our program can get companies ready to comply with the USDA’s new rule once it is finalized and to safeguard the integrity of the USDA Organic seal on their products.”

USDA’s Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) Final Rule is slated for Spring 2022.

The Organic Trade Association’s Organic Fraud Prevention Solutions that was launched a year ago, is designed to meet the unique needs of the organic supply chain and is based on buyer responsibility and supplier verification.

A key component of the program is an online training course that provides detailed background and instruction on how to carry out an organic fraud vulnerability assessment, and how to implement an effective organic fraud prevention plan.

The USDA Strengthening Organic Enforcement Proposed Rule, once finalized, will require that an organic fraud prevention plan be included in a certified organic operation’s Organic Systems Plan.

In its proposed rule, USDA cites the Organic Trade Association’s Organic Fraud Prevention Solutions program as an effective private initiative to prevent fraud in the organic supply chain.