Senate Approves Funds for Audit of Organics Program

The Senate approved a spending bill Tuesday providing $500,000 for the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector general to broaden an investigation of the department's National Organics Program.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), author of the federal law that established the organics program, proposed the Senate funding and has been in discussions over the past month with Secretary Tom Vilsack about needed reforms.

"This puts Congress on record in favor of an audit that can help realign the organic program with its goals and standards," Leahy said. "We need to uphold and defend the credibility of the standards and labeling system, so that the organic label means what it says. There's a sense that some at the top have let things slip in recent years."

The House passed a similar measure last month following a Washington Post article describing uneven enforcement of organics standards by the seven-year-old national program.

The funding provision is expected to make it into the final version of the department's budget, which should be voted on in the fall. The funding would expand a probe by the inspector general to determine whether federal standards are being properly observed before farmers and food producers are allowed to use the certified organic label on food products.

Funding would also be used to determine whether non-organic substances are inappropriately being allowed in small amounts into certified organic foods. The number of non-organic substances that the USDA allows into certified organic products has increased from 77 to 245 since the program started in 2002.