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USDA Accredits Organic Certifiers
June 3, 2002
2 Min Read
USDA Accredits Organic Certifiers
WASHINGTON--The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in late April its first accredited organic certifiers under the National Organic Program (NOP), including 28 private entities, 10 state-accredited certifiers and four international agents. "This is an important step in the launch of the USDA organic program to provide greater marketing choice in the supermarket," said Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman.
Katherine DiMatteo, the Organic Trade Association's executive director, praised USDA's actions. "By accrediting a large number of these agencies and posting their names publicly, USDA is bringing consumers one step closer to more consistent labeling of organic products," she said.
Brian Leahy, president of California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), was also pleased by the news. "We worked very hard to achieve this goal, and we are proud to be among the first certification programs accredited," he said.
Privately Certified Bodies:
California Certified Organic Farmers
California Organic Farmers Association
Fertilizer & Seed Certification Svcs (South Carolina)
Georgia Crop Improvement Association
Global Organic Alliance (Ohio)
Guaranteed Organic Certification Agency (California)
Hawaii Organic Farmers Association
Indiana Certified Organic
Integrity Certified International (Nebraska)
International Certification Services Inc. (North Dakota)
Maharishi Vedic Organic Agriculture Institute (Iowa)
Marin County (California)
Midwest Organic Services Association (Wisconsin)
Minnesota Crop Improvement Association
Monterey County Certified Organic (California)
NOFACMassachusetts
NOFACNew Jersey
NOFACNew York LLC
Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association
Organic Certifiers (California)
Organic Crop Improvement Association (Nebraska)
Organic Forum International (Minnesota)
Oregon Tilth
Pennsylvania Certified Organic
Quality Assurance International (California)
Quality Certification Services (Florida)
Scientific Certification Systems (California)
Stellar Certification Services (New York)
State-Accredited Agents:
Idaho Department of Agriculture
Iowa Department of Agriculture
Maryland Department of Agriculture
Montana Department of Agriculture
New Hampshire Department of Agriculture
New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission
Texas Department of Agriculture
Utah Department of Agriculture
Virginia Department of Agriculture
Washington State Department of Agriculture
Foreign-Accredited Certifying Agents:
BCSCOkeo Garantie Gmbh (Germany)
BioLatina (Peru)
Canadian Organic Certification Cooperative Ltd.
ECOCERT (France and Germany)
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