The Organic Trade Association is forming a task force to ensure products labeled "organic" are actually made from organic ingredients after a newspaper found several instances of fraud in the industry.

The task force is part of "a strong desire on the part of industry to stop the incidence of fraud in organic," OTA CEO Laura Batcha told the Washington Post. "The consumer expects that organic products are verified back to the farm. The industry takes that contract with the consumer very seriously."

A Post investigation published in May discovered that several large shipments of organic corn and soybeans to the U.S. were not grown to conform with organic label standards. The newspaper questioned whether appropriate safeguards were in place to ensure compliance, noting there appeared to be several ways to circumvent the system.

The formation of the new task force was not enough to sway critics of the organic industry, who worry the body will do little more than draft voluntary "best practices" for farmers to follow, the Post reported Monday. In response, Batcha said her association was also lobbying Congress to expand the U.S. Department of Agriculture's authority to enforce the labeling system and is also seeking new technology to trace organic products back to the farm. http://wapo.st/2thVH68

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