imported products. Through recognition agreements, foreign governments
can accredit certifying agents in their
country to the USDA Organic regulations, acting like branches of the NOP
in regard to USDA certifier accreditation. The NOP is working to establish
greater communications with countries that the U.S. has recognition
agreements with, including Denmark,
India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand and
the United Kingdom.
Japan: A Closer Look
In October 2011, the NOP evalu-
ated Japan’s systems for competency in
carrying out key functions of the
USDA certification program: accredit-
ing organic certification bodies and
controlling how government-sanc-
tioned authorities apply and enforce
the NOP standards. The USDA accom-
plished the assessment in three parts,
which included a review of operations
at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) headquarters in
Tokyo, and evaluation of their audit and inspection body, the Food and Agricul-
tural Materials Inspection Center. Addi-
tionally, NOP officials reviewed two
MAFF-accredited certification bodies
and visited the operating sites of several
green tea and miso processors certified
under USDA Organic regulations.
In a proactive monitoring
initiative, the Japanese
accreditation agency at one point
hired 1,500 consumers to check
food labels in supermarkets.
