§6519 Recordkeeping, investigations, and enforcement

Summary

Anyone who sells or labels a product as organic must give the U.S. Department of Agriculture (the Secretary) or the state official in charge any records about that product when asked. Farmers and handlers with organic certification must keep production and handling records for at least 5 years. Those records must show what substances were used, who applied them, and when, how much, and how they were applied. Organizations that certify organic operations must keep their records for at least 10 years and let the Secretary and state officials see them. If a private certifier closes or loses accreditation, its records must go to the Secretary and be available to the state official. Information provided is kept confidential to protect people’s identities and business secrets, except as allowed by section 6506(a)(9) or when the Secretary or the Attorney General permits sharing for enforcement. The Secretary can investigate, check records, and use tools like oaths, subpoenas, witness orders, and evidence collection. People involved in an active investigation must share confidential business information with federal investigators when needed. Penalties include civil fines up to $10,000 for knowingly selling or labeling products as organic when they are not. False statements can be prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. 1001. People who lie, try to mislabel products, or otherwise break program rules can be barred from getting organic certification for 5 years (the Secretary may shorten or waive this). A certifying agent must report violations right away. A private certifier who falsely or negligently certifies someone can lose accreditation and be barred from re‑accreditation for at least 3 years. This does not change other federal food, meat, poultry, egg, or pesticide laws.