Credibility in international organic trade crucial

The IFOAM Trade Congress 2008 was held on the day before BioFach opened in Nuremberg and addressed important issues of worldwide product sourcing, transparency in trade and potential opportunities for fraud. In their contributions, several speakers from USA, Germany and the Netherlands examined the problems from different angles.

Picture: Gerald Herrmann, Angela Caudle de Freitas, Elke Röder, Caren Wilcox, Kirsten Arp, Gert Termeer, Bill Wolf

Following the very interesting congress the splendid IFOAM dinner in the restaurant Vasco da Gama in the CCN East Building at the NürnbergMesse exhibition centre was conducive to more networking. The intention is to hold an international specialist congress before BioFach in the coming years too.

(Picture: IFOAM-President Gerald Herrmann and Mildred Steidle, Organisator of  BioFach Congress)

With his presentation of a multi-point plan, Gert Termeer from the Dutch import/export company Tradin (target turnover in 2008: over 100 million euros) called for improvements. On the one hand, much more ought to be invested in the conversion of agricultural holdings so that the market problems caused by demand exceeding supply would be alleviated. On the other hand, there should be higher investment in quality systems and controls to prevent one and the same product turning up twice as both organic and non-organic in different consumer countries. Certifying bodies should be made more robust, and fraud should be publicly exposed. Critical consumer groups were also called upon to intensify their activities. According to Mr Termeer, it was clear that there had to be a great deal more training and further training for all those involved in the international organic trade at all levels, so that a higher degree of professionalism could be created. More information on the presentation is available on the internet.

Bill Wolf, the Managing Director of the American consultancy Wolf, DiMatteo + Associates, stated that the certification system had not kept pace with the rapid development of organic agriculture. “We need more social responsibility on the part of companies if the integrity of organic businesses is to be upheld,” said Mr Wolf who can look back on over 30 years’ experience of the organic sector. He recommended “triple bottom line companies” – companies that pay attention not only to financial results but also to social and environmental impact. He reported in detail on his visits to organic companies in China, where the dominant factor for the Chinese partners was clearly the commercial interest. He said that, through lack of knowledge, many things in organic agriculture in China were being done incorrectly. An example was composting: heaps that were not piled up in the right way became anaerobic and the positive effect was lost. Insects in greenhouses were killed by spraying with what was said to be organic insecticides instead of encouraging useful predators. But, even in China, there were some genuine advocates of the organic way. He admitted the language barrier prevented direct communication with an elderly man, but he had shown him the soil structure and an earth worm. “We both spoke earthworm,” was how Bill Wolf put it, recalling the pleasurable experience. His presentation is on the internet.

Caren Wilcox, the Director of the Organic Trade Association in the USA and Canada, pointed to the fact that the words “organic agriculture” defined the quality of a production method but was not synonymous with freedom from residues, which was what some consumers and politicians had sometimes assumed in recent times. (Picture: Bill Wolf, Caren Wilcox, Gerald Herrmann, Gert Termeer). For this to be the case, separate checks were required (for example, testing to see if pesticides or GM technology were present). Tom Harding from Agrosystems asked whether, in her estimation, freedom from residues could be laid down in law in the USA in the near future. Her response was in the negative. Regarding assurance of organic quality at all stages of trade, she recommended not  relying entirely on the certification organisation itself – they had to have a good look at the method of operation, checking for example the level of expertise of employees and getting to know everyone at all levels. They should also acquaint themselves with the different guidelines and circumstances in the various countries. It was important to see that, on a voluntary basis, companies set up their own internal monitoring regime. “We have many who would like us to fail,” the OTA President warned.
The OTA represents 1600 organic businesses in the USA; more than half are small companies with an annual turnover of less than 100 000 dollars.
Caren Wilcox’s presentation is on the internet.

Diane Bowen, Managing Director of Organic Guarantee Systems at IFOAM, asked the panel what was the greater danger, poor training and a lack of quality control or the fraud arising from a lack of transparency.

Elke Röder and Kirsten Arp from BNN Herstellung und Handel (National Association of Wholefood Manufacturers and Trade) reported on the BNN monitoring project for fruit and vegetables that has been running for five years. Taking part are 29 importers, exporters and wholesalers in the wholefood industry. They exchange results and have agreed on a common procedure in the case of residues. Through this project, BNN monitoring has achieved crucial improvements in quality management in the wholefood market: data on the presence of pesticides are systematically processed. With the help of widescale and risk-oriented sampling, cases of fraud can be dealt with efficiently and, by exchanging information, goods can be prevented from reaching the market. BNN Herstellung und Handel has stipulated its own danger level of 0.1 mg/kg, which is lower than the legal limit. In the view of the two speakers, the risk-oriented tests have proved their value, with “risk-oriented” meaning that there is not blanket sampling of  all goods but testing of only those products and countries that have drawn attention to themselves in the past. They added that, bearing in mind over 1000 pesticides are in use, it was not easy to keep track of everything. They also pointed out that, since pesticide residues can even be found in penguins at the South Pole, people cannot expect organic products to be completely devoid of residues. More information on the presentation is available on the internet.

The question of reliability in the case of organic imports from China, Russia and Ukraine gave rise to a lengthy discussion. When melamine was added to Chinese conventional grain to be used as animal fodder, it caused a scandal in the spring of 2007 that destroyed the confidence of consumers in the USA. The Chinese action led to dogs and cats dying of kidney failure. And deception in the case of organics was possible too. Bernd Köhler from AB-Cert asked about reduced conversion times in, for example, Eastern Europe. He said that it was often argued that three years were not necessary, since the soil had not previously been in contact with pesticides and artificial fertilisers. Provided the correct documentation was available, shortened conversion periods were being approved by the certification organisations. Frank Rumpe, from Bio-Inspecta in Switzerland, stated that in some countries it was possible to buy practically all the paperwork required as proof of soil status. Another contributor to the discussion was of the opinion that the current lack of transparency and credibility was a good reason to go to those countries where there was no tradition of organics. He gave the example of Russia: “Professionals ought to get involved and support the government and invest in the organic sector.” (Picture: IFOAM-director Angela Caudle de Freitas)

Summary: since there is more and more international trade in organics, no stone should be left unturned to raise both transparency through voluntary measures and the credibility of organic production through a big increase in training to a level that meets world standards. More intensive control procedures have to be introduced as well, and there has to be a stop to certification organisations competing among themselves for lower standards. “Let’s work together and make fraud as difficult and dangerous as possible,” was Elke Röder’s conclusion. IFOAM President Gerald Herrmann (picture) emphasised the point that today government officials were much more receptive than five or ten years ago: “In many countries we can work together with them very well.”

Tip:

Geert Termeer, Secretary of the Board at Tradin Organic Agriculture B.V.

Bill Wolf, President of Wolf, DiMatteo + Associates 

Caren Wilcox, Executive Director of Organic Trade Association in USA – www.ota.com;
www.howtogoorganic.com; www.usorganicproducts.com; www.theorganicpages.com;
www.organicexpo.com

Elke Röder, Executive Director of BNN Herstellung und Handel e.V., BNN-Monitoring,

English