Time for the USDA’s Organic Program to Join the 21st Century and Recognize Internet Shopping
THE STORY: A QUICK OVERVIEW
It is time to address the changing needs of the 31 percent of the American population who purchase organic food. An estimated 150.7 million Americans will have shopped for groceries online in 2024. Statistics indicate that by 2026, over 160 million Americans will buy their groceries through e-commerce sites. Among U.S. internet users, approximately 58.6 percent have purchased groceries online. At present there is no requirement to make the identity of the certifier on the information label (usually found on the back of a package) available to online shoppers; it is currently required to be visible to shoppers on all retail and wholesale packaging. OrganicEye has formally petitioned the USDA asking for rulemaking that will require a visible image of the information identifying the organic certifier of the finished product on all associated webpages.
LA FARGE, WIS — The nation’s most prominent industry watchdog, OrganicEye, announced that it has sent a formal request to the USDA asking for rulemaking to amend the current organic labeling regulations to include the requirement that all organic agricultural products sold through online channelsprovide a visible image identifying the organic certifier of the finished product. Currently, all physical products must include the certifier’s identity on the packaging.
No longer is the corner grocery, the chain supermarket, or the superstore/club store the first place many eaters/consumers shop for groceries. Americans are increasingly moving from shopping for their families’ weekly groceries in physical stores to online retailers, using the internet and a variety of “virtual stores” to make their purchases.
By simply rotating the container, in-store shoppers can view nutrition and ingredient panels and the logo and/or the name of the accredited organic certifier to determine which organization has certified the finished product as organic.
“Online consumers do not have the opportunity to pick up a bag, bottle, box, or can of certified food products and turn it to read the label information on the front, sides, and back of the container to check the certifier’s identity to help verify the authenticity of the product,” said Mark Kastel, executive director of Wisconsin-based OrganicEye. “Unless the online retailer/reseller has provided clear and readable images of the labels, including the portion of the label bearing the certifier name, the USDA should require prominent certifier identity on all associated webpages.”
Both OrganicEye and the USDA have, in recent years, investigated numerous instances of consumer fraud, including the sale of products identified online as organic which were illegitimate. OrganicEye suggests that the new proposed regulations would help purchasers verify the legitimacy of organic product offerings.
Identifying the certifiers of organic products has recently become more critical, as some major certifiers are the focus of an ongoing investigation by the USDA after allegations of illegal conflicts of interest. OrganicEye has published a list delineating both exemplary and “ethically challenged” certifiers that shoppers can use as a guide to organic brand credibility.
Before 1990, the year Congress authorized the USDA to oversee organic production and retailing, no one dreamed of buying food and clothing, or certainly cars and houses, using their computer. And no one imagined that by 2026 over 160 million Americans would be expected to shop for groceries online. After all, it wasn’t until August 6, 1991, that the first website was introduced to the world. In 1992, Charles M. Stack launched Book Stacks Unlimited, one of the first online marketplaces. And Jeff Bezos unveiled Amazon in 1994.[1]
“When drafting the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, Congress clearly intended that accurate, complete information must be available to all buyers and consumers of certified organic food products,” Kastel added.
OrganicEye will testify before the National Organic Standards Board at their semiannual meeting later this month, presenting their proposal to the panel.
OrganicEye is advocating for the same information to be available to both online and offline shoppers to ensure all consumers have a clear understanding of the identity of the handler or distributor of the product and the accredited organization that certified them.
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OrganicEye is distributing a link that organic industry stakeholders, farmers, processor-marketers, retailers, and eaters/consumers can use to send a message to the director of the USDA National Organic Program, Christopher Purdy.
The message asks that he give an expedited directive to the National Organic Standards Board to schedule public comments and deliberate on the proposed new regulations to require the same information online as is currently required on all packaging.
[1] https://www.iwdagency.com/blogs/news/the-history-of-ecommerce-how-did-it-all-begin