FRAUDULENT USE OF "ORGANIC" CERTIFICATION TARGET OF USDA INVESTIGATION...

USDA alerts organic industry of fraudulent national organic program certificate

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is warning organic distributors and processors to be aware of the circulation of a fraudulent organic certificate produced by an uncertified operation.

The certificate falsely represents agricultural products as certified organic under National Organic Program (NOP) regulations and constitutes a violation of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. Further investigation did not produce evidence that any product was sold in the United States using the fraudulent certificate.

The NOP was alerted of the certificate by the accredited organic certifier whose name is falsely attributed as the issuer.

“It’s important the organic industry is aware of these sorts of attempts to deceive the organic system,” said Ruihong Guo, associate deputy administrator of the National Organic Program. “We’re continuing to remain vigilant to these attempts so organic standards are protected.”

The fraudulent certificate contains the following identifying information:

-Operation name and location: Xi’an Bosheng Biological Technology Co., Ltd., Room 1104, 11F, Dongxing Building, Jiangong Road, Xi’an, China
-Certificate number: 6199ONDDDDz2ec(US)
-Products listed as certified:
Organic Hibiscus Extract Powder
Organic Jasmine Extract Powder
Organic Beet Root Extract Powder
-USDA Accredited Certifying Agent and location: Ecocert SA, L’Isle Jourdain, France (Note: Ecocert SA brought the fraudulent certificate to the attention of the NOP and is not responsible for its production)
-Certificate issue location and date: Northeim, Germany, Jan. 26, 2012 [sic]

Any use of the certificate or other fraudulent documents to market, label, or sell non-organic agricultural products as organic may result in a civil penalty of up to $11,000 per violation. Persons with information regarding the production or use of this or other fraudulent NOP certificates are asked to immediately contact Ruihong Guo, Associate Deputy Administrator, NOP, at (202) 720-3252 or at NOPCompliance@ams.usda.gov.

The NOP is responsible for ensuring the integrity of USDA organic agricultural products in the United States and throughout the world. Organic standards support sustainable agricultural practices minimize adverse impact on the environment and on humans.


Publication date: 8/31/2011

http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=85059

DEBUNKING THE MYTH OF "ORGANIC" PRODUCE...STUDY PROVES NO TRUTH TO THE "HYPE"...

Unfounded pesticide concerns adversely affect the health of low-income populations

by Staff Writers

Denver CO (SPX) Aug 31, 2011

At very low doses, many of these substances are not of concern to humans, he said. For example, a single cup of coffee contains 15-20 of these natural pesticides and chemicals from roasting that test positive in animal cancer tests, but they are present in very low amounts. 

Human pesticide consumption from fresh food is even less of a concern, according to Ames - the amount of pesticide residues that an average person ingests throughout an entire year is even less than the amount of those "harmful" substances in one cup of coffee. In fact, evidence suggests coffee is protective against cancer in humans.


The increasingly prevalent notion that expensive organic fruits and vegetables are safer because pesticides - used to protect traditional crops from insects, thus ensuring high crop yields and making them less expensive - are a risk for causing cancer has no good scientific support, an authority on the disease said here Tuesday. Such unfounded fears could have the unanticipated consequence of keeping healthful fruits and vegetables from those with low incomes.

Bruce N. Ames, Ph.D., developer of a widely used test for potential carcinogens that bears his name, spoke at the 242nd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), being held here this week. With more than 7,500 reports on new advances in science and more than 12,000 scientists and others expected in attendance, it will be one of 2011's largest scientific gatherings.

Ames described his "triage theory," which explains how the lack of essential vitamins and minerals from fruit and vegetables in the diet of younger people can set the stage for cancer and other diseases later in life. A professor emeritus of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California at Berkeley, Ames also is a senior scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, where he works on healthy aging.

He developed the Ames test, which uses bacteria to test whether substances damage the genetic material DNA and, in doing so, have the potential to cause cancer. He has received the U.S. National Medal of Science among many other awards.

In the presentation, Ames said that animal cancer studies unfairly label many substances, including pesticides and other synthetic chemicals, as dangerous to humans. Ames' and Lois Swirsky Gold's research indicates that almost all pesticides in the human diet are substances present naturally in plants to protect them from insects.

"Animal cancer tests, which are done at very high doses of synthetic chemicals such as pesticides - the "maximum tolerated dose" (MTD) - are being misinterpreted to mean that minuscule doses in the diet are relevant to human cancer. 99.99 percent of the pesticides we eat are naturally present in plants to protect them from insects and other predators.

Over half of all chemicals tested, whether natural or synthetic, are carcinogenic in rodent tests," Ames said. He thinks this is due to the high dose itself and is not relevant to low doses.

At very low doses, many of these substances are not of concern to humans, he said. For example, a single cup of coffee contains 15-20 of these natural pesticides and chemicals from roasting that test positive in animal cancer tests, but they are present in very low amounts.

Human pesticide consumption from fresh food is even less of a concern, according to Ames - the amount of pesticide residues that an average person ingests throughout an entire year is even less than the amount of those "harmful" substances in one cup of coffee. In fact, evidence suggests coffee is protective against cancer in humans.

Unfounded fears about the dangers of pesticide residues on fruit and vegetables may stop many consumers from buying these fresh, healthful foods. In response, some stores sell "organic" foods grown without synthetic pesticides, but these foods are much more expensive and out of the reach of low-income populations. As a result, people - especially those who are poor - may consume fewer fruits and vegetables.

But how does a lack of fresh produce lead to cancer and other aging diseases? That's where Ames' triage theory comes in.

In wartime, battlefield doctors with limited supplies and time do a triage, making quick decisions about which injured soldiers to treat. In a similar way, the body makes decisions about how to ration vital nutrients while experiencing an immediate moderate deficiency, but this is often at a cost.

"The theory is that, as a result of recurrent shortages of vitamins and minerals during evolution, natural selection developed a metabolic rebalancing response to shortage," he said. "Rebalancing favors vitamin- and mineral-dependent proteins needed for short-term survival and reproduction while starving those proteins only required for long-term health." Ames noted that the theory is strongly supported by recent work (Am J Clin Nutr. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.27930; FASEB J DOI:10.1096/fj.11-180885; J Nucleic Acids DOI:10.4061/2010/725071).

For example, if a person's diet is low in calcium - a nutrient essential for many ongoing cellular processes - the body takes it from wherever it can find it - usually the bones. The body doesn't care about the risk of osteoporosis 30 or 40 years in the future (long-term health) when it is faced with an emergency right now (short-term survival). Thus, insidious or hidden damage happens to organs and DNA whenever a person is lacking vitamins or minerals, and this eventually leads to aging-related diseases, such as dementia, osteoporosis, heart trouble and cancer.

And with today's obesity epidemic, resulting largely from bad diets that lack healthful foods containing vitamins, minerals and fiber, aging-related diseases are likely to be around for some time to come.

http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Unfounded_pesticide_concerns_adversely_affect_the_health_of_low_income_populations_999.html

WORLD'S LARGEST FOOD COMPANY EXECUTIVE BELIEVES THE "ORGANIC" FAD HAS PLAYED ITSELF OUT...

Nestle Chairman Skeptical Of Growth In Organic Food Market

BY PAUL GLADER 

                                                                                                                                  Sun Aug 21, 2011






SALZBURG, AUSTRIA--How does the chairman of the world's largest food company--Nestlé S.A.--view consumer trends toward organic foods, slow foods, and farmer's markets in parts of the U.S. And Europe?

"You have to be rational," says Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of the Board of Nestlé S.A. "There's no way you can support life on earth if you go straight from farm to table."

Nestle, like many "big food" companies in recent years, has made acquisitions of several premium brands that organic-loving people tend to buy: San Pellegrino water, PowerBar energy bars, and Skinny Cow ice cream. The company has also tweaked its motto in recent years to de-emphasize candy bars and shift the focus to health and wellness: "Good food, good life."

But when it comes down to it, Brabeck-Letmathe thinks organic products (known as "bio" products in Europe) are not key to Nestlé S.A., which had sales of 110 billion swiss francs and profits of 34 billion in 2010.

"It sounds good. It is good. We have to help our farmers who make these products. It allows them to create added value for people who are willing to pay for it," Brabeck-Letmathe said during an interview at the Salzburg Festival, where Nestlé S.A. sponsors the Young Conductor's Award. But "it's a privilege. We also have to think of the world food supply."

Brabeck-Letmathe says that "bio" products have 30% less yield than normal agriculture and "wouldn't allow us to feed the world today." Certainly, wealthy people in areas rich in agriculture, like Austria, Germany, and the U.S., have the privilege to pay higher prices for organic foods. But he views it as a "romantic" notion that is not scalable.

"From a nutritional point of view, studies show no nutritional difference from bio to other foods," he said. "But it's more dangerous." He said organic foods in Europe are often fertilized with livestock manure and people don't always realize they need to wash it thoroughly. He said it leads to 30-40 deaths per year from such products.



Nutrition professors and some food scientists dispute many of those claims, suggesting that organic foods do show nutritional difference and are not more dangerous than processed foods. They consider those ideas to be myths that the big food industry promotes and suggest that large companies like Nestlé, Kraft Foods Inc., and Dole Food Company, Inc., don't embrace ideas in nutrition and fresh foods because it runs counter to their business model and profit base.

They also point out that other food companies--such as Amy's Kitchen, Eden Foods Inc., and Cliff Bar & Co.--show a stronger commitment to health and wellness. Some of them also resist acquisition attempts by larger food companies like Nestle because they believe it's harder to make organic foods on a larger scale--which in a sense, may prove Brabeck-Lethmathe's point.



Brabeck-Letmathe said he realizes that films like Food Inc., Michael Pollan books, and farmer's markets are real trends that are shifting the American approach to produce and food production, adding that Nestle is investing more money in life sciences and the intersection of medicine and nutrition because its executives believe that how we eat plays a large role in chronic diseases.

While he is skeptical of the slow food movement gaining the scale to feed the world, he says that movement has affected Nestle's approach to its supply chain as more consumers demand to know where their food comes from. Nestle's improved its identification and tracking of where its food products come from, tracking it all the way to farmers. "This is a positive development," Brabeck-Letmathe said. Nestlé helps farmers of cocoa, coffee, and milk install control mechanisms to prevent contamination and to improve production quality.

Organic Monitor estimates that global sales of organic foods reached $54.9 billion in 2009, up from $50.9 billion in 2008, the latest figures available. The countries with the largest markets are the U.S., Germany, and France. The Organic Trade Association reports U.S. sales of organic food and beverages have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to $26.7 billion in 2010. Sales in 2010 represented 7.7 percent growth over 2009 sales. Organic food and beverage sales represented approximately 4 percent of overall food and beverage sales in 2010.

But Brabeck-Letmathe, for one, thinks the growth of the elite, wealthier organic food consumers in the U.S. and the E.U. have hit a peak. “It will stay the same," he says. "I don't think it will grow much more than it is.”

http://www.fastcompany.com/1775047/nestle-chairman-skeptical-of-growth-in-organic-food-market

LAPD "FOOD POLICE" RAID RAWSOME STORE WITH GUNS DRAWN OVER "ORGANIC" ISSUE...

Police raided the Rawsome Foods organic grocery store with guns drawn in search of "raw-foods". George Hemminger (George4Title) said the battle over organic foods is heating up because large agricultural businesses and corporations feel threatened by local co-ops and have hijacked the FDA and other government regulatory agencies.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/guntoting-investigators-raid-ve...

WHEN "ORGANIC" ... DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN HEALTHIER..HWT MANGOES ARE MISSING KEY ENZYMES...SO WHY PLAY THE "HEALTHY" CARD ???

Albert’s Organics promoting Chilean, Peruvian organic products
By Christina DiMartino                                                                                                                  | July 13, 2011


Wholesale distributor Albert’s Organics, headquartered in Santa Cruz, CA, is a full-service organic produce wholesale distributor that carries a complete line of organic fresh produce.

“Currently we are promoting organic blueberries from Chile and organic mangoes from Peru,” Simcha Weinstein, director of marketing, told The Produce News. “Of course we are also promoting winter time citrus, but then we often will work on getting our customers excited about the non-seasonal items that come from the southlands and offer a bit of a taste of summer during the cold winter season.”

Since its founding in 1982, Albert’s has delivered a full line of organic produce — around 350 items — ranging from cactus leaves to broccoli, and everything in between. It sources produce from all over the world in order to have a complete selection year round. Its produce is distributed across the nation to all segments of the food industry.

“When we began in 1982, the majority of our customers were natural foods stores,” said Mr. Weinstein. “At that time they were the primary avenue for selling organic and natural foods. Today, we have a nice balance in our customer base of natural food stores, chain supermarkets, restaurants and foodservice groups, as well as industrial operations. We were the first certified organic distributor with nationwide coverage.”

Albert’s dedicated national procurement team sources all of its products nationally and internationally. It outfits entire produce departments with complete selections of organic fresh produce.

“With eight distribution centers in the United States, we also place a strong emphasis on locally and regionally grown foods, and our buyers at each division do an excellent job of working with the growers that are local to their areas,” Mr. Weinstein added.

He said that signs indicate that organic produce continues to grow in demand, even with the sluggish economy.

“The good news is that in 2010 the organic industry grew at a rate of nearly eight percent, increasing to over $28.6 billion in sales,” he said. “During this year the total U.S. food sales grew by only one percent, so it seems that relative to the baseline standard, organic sales are doing quite well. Organic fruits and vegetables actually experienced the most growth and now account for nearly 12 percent of all U.S. produce sales. The total organic fruit and vegetable sales were at nearly $10.6 billion, up nearly 12 percent from 2009. These numbers are significant, and they show that while our economic recovery is a bit sluggish, people are not only continuing to purchase organic foods, but they are increasing their organic choices. And clearly, new shoppers of organic foods are coming on board.”

The local movement, Mr. Weinstein added, will most likely continue to be strong moving forward. He noted that in general, shoppers of organic foods prefer that the products they buy will leave as small a carbon footprint as possible, and locally grown adheres to that principal. Albert’s advantage is in its eight distribution points in the nation, enabling it to source from eight local and regional areas.


http://producenews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32498:alberts-organics-promoting-chilean-peruvian-organic-products&catid=15:companies-cat&Itemid=7