Some organic food may not live up to its label.
That is the finding of an audit published on Monday by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Inspector General, which examined organic trade. The agency evaluated, in part, the compliance of imported organic products with US government standards.
Its review said that the department’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which oversees organic standards, could not prove that incoming cargoes “were reviewed at US ports of entry to verify that imported agricultural products labeled as organic were from certified organic foreign farms and business.”
The audit also found the agency has not figured out how to ensure that shipments sprayed for insects do not get labeled organic before they reach grocery store shelves.
As consumer purchases of organic foods soar, US imports have been on the rise and were valued at US$1.72 billion last year, USDA data showed.
Consumers typically pay a premium for organic products, which are supposed to be produced without synthetic fertilizer and genetic engineering.
“The lack of controls at US ports of entry increases the risk that non-organic products may be imported as organic into the United States and could create an unfair economic environment for US organic producers,” the report said.
Foreign purchases of organic corn and soybeans — used as feed for cows and chickens — have been skyrocketing in recent years, particularly from Turkey.
Earlier this year, some organic certifiers said they were tightening standards on imports amid concerns of fraud.
The USDA in June revoked the organic certificate of a Turkish grain and oilseed handler that had sold organic soybeans that were fumigated with aluminum phosphide, a substance not allowed under organic rules.
According to the report, Agricultural Marketing Service officials concurred with the findings and issued recommendations to address the problems.
The USDA’s media office did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment.
The increase in imports is “a new phenomenon,” said Peter Golbitz, founder of Florida-based consulting firm Agromeris. “It certainly overwhelmed the system in place and it’s now recognized that better communication needs to occur between the agencies involved in oversight and import regulations.”
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”