-WJLA SCRIPT- 

ANCHOR:

MORE PESTICIDE-LACED PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN PULLED OFF GROCERY STORES SHELVES NATIONWIDE…THE RESULT OF AN ONGOING I-TEAM INVESTIGATION INTO ORGANIC LABELING. THAT INVESTIGATION WHICH BEGAN AT WHOLE FOODS STORES IN OUR AREA HAS NOW REACHED HALF WAY AROUND THE WORLD TO CHINA. THE I-TEAM'S ROBERTA BASKIN IS HERE WITH THE LATEST.

ROBERTA BASKIN:

WHOLE FOODS PULLED ITS HOUSE BRAND 365 GINGER FROM STORE SHELVES AFTER OUR LAB TESTS SHOWED IT WAS CONTAMINATED WITH A TOXIC PESTICIDE CALLED ALDICARB. BUT THAT WAS JUST THE START

STORY:

BASKIN: Ginger is a common kitchen spice. Used in everything from stir fry to baking ginger cookies. Our lab tests revealed organic ginger from China was laced with a forbidden pesticide. As a result, food distributor Frontier Natural Products Coop, under its "Simply Organic" label is following Whole Foods lead and has ordered an "Urgent Recall." It affects more than two dozen other ginger products… including…Jamaican Seasoning… Pickling Spice…and Seafood Seasoning.
All carry the U.S.Department of Agriculture (web | news) 's Organic certification. Barbara Robinson heads the USDA's organic program. 

Barbara Robinson/USDA: "We know it was the farm in China that applied a toxic insecticide. Now we just have to figure out how did that happen?"

BASKIN: (CHINA PHOTOS) These photos were taken last summer by USDA auditors making only their first visit to Chinese farms and processing plants since the government began certifying organic food six years ago. They actually rely on private companies to do the inspections for them.

Barbara Robinson: "It takes a lot of attention, and if you don't do this job right, you don't deserve to put the label on this product."

BASKIN: But a USDA audit of 28 companies released just today shows half aren't getting the job done. (graphic) It found private inspectors in China were poorly trained…ignored rules and regulations…and couldn't communicate because of the language barrier.

ADAM EIDINGER: "These violations are really serious because consumers have been paying extra for organic products that in fact are not organic.  

BASKIN: But Adam Eidinger of the Organic Consumers Association says making the USDA's audits public is an important first step. 

Adam Eidinger: "Sometimes you have to have bad news to make a good choice and that's what's happening here. The consumer should be able to make a better choice with this information. I think we're having a day of reckoning now."

ROBERTA IN STUDIO:
THE ADULTERATED GINGER WE DISCOVERED IS CERTIFIED BY QUALITY ASSURANCE INTERNATIONAL, THE LARGEST CERTIFICATION COMPANY. THE USDA HAS DIRECTED QAI TO INVESTIGATE HOW THIS CONTAMINATION OCCURRED, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME IT'S UNDER AUDIT FOR LICENSE RENEWAL. MEANWHILE, THE I-TEAM JUST LEARNED THAT A MANUFACTURER CALLED "FOOD FOR THOUGHT" HAS USED THE CONTAMINATED GINGER IN PRIVATE LABEL FOODS. 

USDA Audits

Frontier National Products Recall

QAI Statement

Whole Foods Market's Statement

Regarding the USDA’s accreditation audit: We applaud the USDA’s move toward greater transparency by making this latest round of audits available to the public. We appreciate that they are giving the organic community a window into how they spot-check certifiers and the extent to which they enforce any infractions they do discover. This is a logical step following the National Organic Program’s (NOP) online reading room, which was recently establish to post documents related to the NOP’s certifier accreditation work. This site will help the organic community keep a close eye on the USDA’s oversight of the certifiers and directly review NOP accreditation documents. Any member of the public can now review NOP’s accreditation reports for any certifier online. Regarding the results of QAI’s accreditation audit by the USDA: Whole Foods Market supports the ongoing efforts of the USDA’s NOP to measure and uphold the standards it created for organic foods. Regular accreditation audits such as this allow consumers feel confident about the quality and purity of the organics products they buy and the process by which the food is grown, processed, and sold. The report on our accredited certifying agent, QAI, identified QAI’s status as “renewal ongoing.” This means that QAI is still in the process of renewing its accreditation and the USDA intends to conduct a follow-up audit in order to verify their ongoing compliance.

Organic Trade Association Public Statement

Pesticide Residues and Organic Products August 5, 2008 On July 24, WJLA News in Washington, D.C., reported low levels of pesticide detected in organic ginger, and followed with a subsequent story airing Aug 5. Like shoppers, the organic community is very concerned about reports of such pesticide contamination in the food supply. Consumers choose organic products because they trust organic farmers to not use toxic and persistent pesticides that can end up in the food chain. The Organic Trade Association (OTA) supports the steps taken by the companies involved to move quickly and remove products from the shelf and provide rapid trace back to the source in China. OTA also urges the National Organic Program (NOP) to quickly determine specifically how the contamination occurred. OTA would urge the organic community to use the findings to take steps to improve the system to help prevent such incidents in the future. The way organic foods are grown and processed is more closely monitored than other types of food production, and organic foods must meet or exceed all federal organic regulations as well as all applicable food safety regulations. For over 12 years, OTA has been advocating for proper funding for NOP, so that it has the resources it needs to create and enforce the organic regulations that cover all organic food and beverage products sold in the U.S. OTA continues to support the work of the National Organic Program. Organic crops, like any crops, may be inadvertently exposed to agricultural chemicals that are now pervasive in rain and ground water due to their overuse during the past fifty years, and due to drift via wind and rain. In the United States alone, more than one billion pounds of pesticides are released into the environment each year. As a result, consumers are exposed to them daily in the food they eat, the water they drink, the air and dust they breathe, as well as on surfaces inside their homes and at work, and in public places. Aldicarb, like many toxic and persistent pesticides, remains in the environment long after application. Organic agriculture is about the process of production, and cannot guarantee that all farm products are free of pesticide contamination that already pervades the planet. And yet, organic farming is part of the solution to reduce reliance on potentially dangerous pesticides and fertilizers highly dependent on oil and natural gas for their production. Supporting organic farmers, no matter where they are on the planet, helps to take care of the water and soil resources. It is really important that such incidents as the one reported come to light and that a determination is made on went wrong so the findings can be used to improve the system. Strict enforcement of organic standards can bolster consumer confidence in the integrity of organic products they buy.

 

OTA Public Statement on the Accreditation Process

The Organic Trade Association applauds the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) for making available information from its auditing process for accredited certification agencies. NOP’s Aug. 5 posting of the renewal status of accredited certification agencies is an important first step in providing transparency to consumers on the process to review and audit the organic certifiers in the quest to maintain the integrity of organic operations. Certifier approval, inspection and enforcement have always been founding principles of national organic standards, and they are critical to maintaining trust between the consumer and the industry. Because the National Organic Standards were fully implemented in October 2002 and this is a new industry, this is the first time such a report has been issued. As designated in the NOP report, certification is still valid not only for operations certified by agencies that have successfully completed the process but also for operations certified by agencies listed as “renewal on-going” or “renewal pending subsequent audit.” USDA plans to conduct follow-up audits to complete the accreditation process on these agencies within the next 12 months. Click here to view the posting listing the current status of the 55 domestic and 40 foreign accredited certifying agents. The Organic Trade Association continues to support the work of NOP and to advocate for proper funding for NOP so that it has the resources it needs to enforce the organic regulations that cover all organic food and beverage products sold in the United States. OTA believes the completion of the audit process is a hallmark of the organic system’s integrity and commitment to continuous improvement.

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