7 U.S.C. § 6514 — Accreditation program

Page 1878 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6514 of livestock consistent with the purposes of this chapter. (d) Mixed crop livestock production An organic plan may encompass both the crop production and livestock production require- ments in subsections (b) and (c) if both activi- ties are conducted by the same producer. (e) Handling plan An organic handling plan shall contain provi- sions designed to ensure that agricultural prod- ucts that are sold or labeled as organically pro- duced are produced and handled in a manner that is consistent with the purposes of this chapter. (f) Management of wild crops An organic plan for the harvesting of wild crops shall— (1) designate the area from which the wild crop will be gathered or harvested; (2) include a 3 year history of the manage- ment of the area showing that no prohibited substances have been applied; (3) include a plan for the harvesting or gath- ering of the wild crops assuring that such har- vesting or gathering will not be destructive to the environment and will sustain the growth and production of the wild crop; and (4) include provisions that no prohibited sub- stances will be applied by the producer. (g) Limitation on content of plan An organic plan shall not include any produc- tion or handling practices that are inconsistent with this chapter. (Pub. L. 101–624, title XXI, § 2114, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3943.) § 6514. Accreditation program (a) In general The Secretary shall establish and implement a program to accredit a governing State official, and any private person, that meets the require- ments of this section as a certifying agent for the purpose of certifying a farm or handling op- eration as a certified organic farm or handling operation. (b) Requirements To be accredited as a certifying agent under this section, a governing State official or pri- vate person shall— (1) prepare and submit, to the Secretary, an application for such accreditation; (2) have sufficient expertise in organic farm- ing and handling techniques as determined by the Secretary; and (3) comply with the requirements of this sec- tion and section 6515 of this title. (c) Additional documentation and verification The Secretary, acting through the Deputy Ad- ministrator of the national organic program es- tablished under this chapter, has the authority, and shall grant a certifying agent the authority, to require producers and handlers to provide ad- ditional documentation or verification before granting a certification under section 6503 of this title, in the case of a compliance risk with respect to meeting the national standards for organic production established under section 6504 of this title, as determined by the Secretary or the certifying agent. (d) Accreditation of foreign organic certification program (1) In general For an agricultural product being imported into the United States to be represented as or- ganically produced, the Secretary shall re- quire the agricultural product to be accom- panied by a complete and valid national or- ganic import certificate, which shall be avail- able as an electronic record. (2) Tracking system (A) In general The Secretary shall establish a system to track national organic import certificates. (B) Integration In establishing the system under subpara- graph (A), the Secretary may integrate the system into any existing information track- ing systems for imports of agricultural prod- ucts. (e) Duration of accreditation An accreditation made under this section— (1) subject to paragraph (2), shall be for a pe- riod of not more than 5 years, as determined appropriate by the Secretary; (2) in the case of a certifying agent oper- ating in a foreign country, shall be for a pe- riod of time that is consistent with the certifi- cation of a domestic certifying agent, as deter- mined appropriate by the Secretary; and (3) may be renewed. (Pub. L. 101–624, title XXI, § 2115, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3944; Pub. L. 115–334, title X, § 10104(c), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4900.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 115–334 added subsecs. (c) to (e) and struck out former subsec. (c). Prior to amendment, text of subsec. (c) read as follows: ‘‘An ac- creditation made under this section shall be for a pe- riod of not to exceed 5 years, as determined appropriate by the Secretary, and may be renewed.’’ § 6515. Requirements of certifying agents (a) Ability to implement requirements To be accredited as a certifying agent under section 6514 of this title, a governing State offi- cial or a person shall be able to fully implement the applicable organic certification program es- tablished under this chapter. (b) Inspectors Any certifying agent shall employ a sufficient number of inspectors to implement the applica- ble organic certification program established under this chapter, as determined by the Sec- retary. (c) Agreement Any certifying agent shall enter into an agree- ment with the Secretary under which such agent shall— (1) agree to carry out the provisions of this chapter; and