7 USC 6514 – Accreditation program
(a) In general
The Secretary shall establish and implement a program to accredit a governing State official, and any private person, that meets the requirements of this section as a certifying agent for the purpose of certifying a farm or handling operation as a certified organic farm or handling operation.
(b) Requirements
Terms Used In 7 USC 6514
- agricultural product: means any agricultural commodity or product, whether raw or processed, including any commodity or product derived from livestock that is marketed in the United States for human or livestock consumption. See 7 USC 6502
- certified organic farm: means a farm, or portion of a farm, or site where agricultural products or livestock are produced, that is certified by the certifying agent under this chapter as utilizing a system of organic farming as described by this chapter. See 7 USC 6502
- certifying agent: includes any person (including a private entity)&mdash. See 7 USC 6502
- governing State official: means the chief executive official of a State or, in the case of a State that provides for the Statewide election of an official to be responsible solely for the administration of the agricultural operations of the State, such official, who administers an organic certification program under this chapter. See 7 USC 6502
- handling operation: means any operation or portion of an operation (except final retailers of agricultural products that do not process agricultural products) that&mdash. See 7 USC 6502
- organically produced: means an agricultural product that is produced and handled in accordance with this chapter. See 7 USC 6502
- person: means an individual, group of individuals, corporation, association, organization, cooperative, or other entity. See 7 USC 6502
- Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture. See 7 USC 6502
To be accredited as a certifying agent under this section, a governing State official or private person shall—
(1) prepare and submit, to the Secretary, an application for such accreditation;
(2) have sufficient expertise in organic farming and handling techniques as determined by the Secretary; and
(3) comply with the requirements of this section and section 6515 of this title.
(c) Additional documentation and verification
The Secretary, acting through the Deputy Administrator of the national organic program established under this chapter, has the authority, and shall grant a certifying agent the authority, to require producers and handlers to provide additional documentation or verification before granting a certification under section 6503 of this title, in the case of a compliance risk with respect to meeting the national standards for organic production established under section 6504 of this title, as determined by the Secretary or the certifying agent.
(d) Accreditation of foreign organic certification program
(1) In general
For an agricultural product being imported into the United States to be represented as organically produced, the Secretary shall require the agricultural product to be accompanied by a complete and valid national organic import certificate, which shall be available as an electronic record.
(2) Tracking system
(A) In general
The Secretary shall establish a system to track national organic import certificates.
(B) Integration
In establishing the system under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may integrate the system into any existing information tracking systems for imports of agricultural products.
(e) Duration of accreditation
An accreditation made under this section—
(1) subject to paragraph (2), shall be for a period of not more than 5 years, as determined appropriate by the Secretary;
(2) in the case of a certifying agent operating in a foreign country, shall be for a period of time that is consistent with the certification of a domestic certifying agent, as determined appropriate by the Secretary; and
(3) may be renewed.