The Organic Trade Association has launched a new program to help businesses weed out foods and other products that are falsely labeled as organic.

The voluntary Organic Fraud Prevention System was created to help minimize and possibly eliminate organic fraud both inside and outside the U.S., OTA said in a statement. The system establishes a framework and formal process for businesses to create internal programs that identify legitimate organic products in supply chains.

"Fraud in the global organic supply chain poses a significant threat to the integrity of the organic brand," OTA CEO Laura Batcha said. "For the past two years, the Organic Trade Association has prioritized significant time and resources into organic fraud prevention solutions."

A 2017 investigation by The Washington Post concluded that many milk products, eggs and imported grains sold in the U.S. as "organic" did not meet organic standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The farm bill passed by Congress last year set aside millions of dollars to combat organic fraud.

OTA said its new program is not a certification or verification program nor a product label. It is a quality assurance program designed to complement and reinforce USDA's organic standards. http://bit.ly/2TDlWVo

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