That process varies depending on the claim being made, the state and the
product. It also depends on how badly you want to see someone really
busted. Sometimes it can seem like a witch-hunt over a minor infraction,
while other times it can seem like just desserts.
Within the realm of organic certification, a single call or email to the
National Organic Program about a product, producer or processor will launch
an investigation. They have a link for reporting fraud, right on their main
page. I have heard of a handful of such investigations for regional
producers. One was against a producer who was certified as of Dec 31 the
previous year, let their certification temporarily lapse for lack of funds
in the new year, but with every attempt being made to get that money put
together to renew certification (in the days before the costs were
compensated). A neighbor turned her in during that process, because she
kept advertising her products as being certified organic. That seemed a tad
obnoxious to me since anyone who knew her knew she was meeting every last
rule and her lapse of certification was a technicality. I believe she was
given six months to get back into compliance, no monetary fine, which she
did.
Compare that with another producer in the same region who set up her entire
business with the certified organic label and term plastered all over
everything, then claimed the certification process was "too complicated",
went year after year without even bothering to try to get certified, but
kept telling her customers she was. She was turned in, given the choice of
getting certified or changing her ads and website. I don't know the details
on that one, but I suspect if she didn't choose one or the other within a
certain timeframe, she'd be slapped with the steep $10K fine for her
indecision. She opted to change her ads and website. That seemed
appropriate to me.
Other labeling claims are tougher to enforce. Use of words like "natural"
and "organic" and "local" are officially defined and all carry a marketing
advantage. Yet the policy enforcement is much weaker, and it's very
d8fficult to pursue those claims and get anywhere. The USDA just isn't that
hellbent on prosecuting such claims. However, notify the FDA that someone
is selling raw milk without a license, and they'll bring in the SWAT team
and black helicopters. I wish I was kidding. It's a profoundly different
agency mindset. The USDA generally wants to see success stories, while the
FDA wants to shut down anyone who won't play ball. So if someone can find a
reason to turn in a product under FDA rules, that's usually the more
successful. But the "witch-hunt" meter reading is right up there.
In the context of honey, since that has no strongly enforced national
standard (yet), sometimes going after fraudulent claims at the state level
is more successful. I seem to recall a bru-ha-ha down in the FL/AL/GA area
a few years ago about fraudulent tupelo honey being sold at roadside stands,
where it was a small fraction of tupelo honey and a majority of either more
common honey and/or corn oil. I don't know the details of that one, but I'm
pretty sure that was state-level involvement, rather than federal, to get
that situation dealt with.
I know from conversations with some colleagues in TX that the rules there
can be rather convoluted, and that the state Dept of Ag takes a dim view on
anyone who doesn't navigate them completely. But I don't know the penalty
structure when someone fails, either deliberately or by accident. Cross the
state line in any direction and the compliance fervor goes down a few
notches.
Best bet when trying to market a product is to check every level of
government, find out the hoops in advance, and possibly bring on some kind
of mentor or advisor who can help navigate the process. Best bet when
trying to bust a fraudulent product is to just start making phone calls,
starting at the lowest possible level of government and working your way up
the chain. If the agency doesn't seem to care, ask them who would. When
you get someone on the phone who starts showing some real interest, then
that's the right department to be talking to. But you have to decide how
"worth it" that investment of your time will be. Sometimes, frankly, it's
not.
Kathryn Kerby
Frogchorusfarm.com
Snohomish, WA
-----Original Message-----
From: Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of E.t. Ash
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2015 2:05 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [BEE-L] Organic Honey
a snip from prior comments...
'Have we reached a point where our testing is the problem? As mentioned
before you can find anything about anywhere. Are we trying to be insanely
strict??'
I have wondered about this myself since it seem testing long long ago was
pretty much limited to parts per million and now we have the technical
capacity to test to parts per billion. So what was not that long ago
impossible is now the norm.
Someone mentioned coal fired electrical generation plants in Montana I seem
to recall in my reading of ABJ a set of studies long ago relative to some
heavy metal that came out of the stack. My memory seems to suggest that all
of a sudden these studies just evaporated as the product of these mines was
being distributed on a much wider scale in most of the midwest (I think the
coal used in the power plant just south of us comes from Montana). Anyone
know of any studies that would inform of any potential danger coming out of
these smoke stacks.
This subject start out reflecting on some ads for honey that stated they
were organic when many here I suspect would doubt this claim. We have a
smaller problem here in Texas in that we have legal rules concerning claims
you can make concerning the selling of honey and what you can and cannot
place on a label but at least here none of these rules are enforced. So my
question is when you do see claims made on Craigs list and similar modern
day marketing mechanism who do you file notice with that these claims need
to either be withdrawn or verified? Would or could you post a protest with
folks like Criags List that such claims might well be illegal? What is the
process and who do you call?
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
