Jennifer Tucker, Ph.D., was named Deputy Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program on June 21, 2018. Dr. Tucker served as Associate Deputy Administrator of the National Organic Program from 2011-2018. At the BIOFACH 2020 congress session "Fraud, gaps and loopholes: private and public counteractions and enforcement to complement regulations", Jennifer presented upcoming regulatory changes in the United States to strengthening organic enforcement.

The US has already advanced substantially in the area of organic enforcement. Whereas years ago, the focus of the NOP was the implementation of annual inspections, the scope has broadened:

• information exchange between certifiers has become mandatory
• supply chain surveillance has become a central part of the NOPs daily work
• the NOP puts an increased emphasis on mass balance checks across supply chains
• the NOP carries out targeted integrity checks in particular countries
• a comprehensive toolbox of enforcement techniques has been developed
• public data made available by the American foreign agricultural service is being analysed
• country commodity studies are being carried out
• increased cooperation with other governments on integrity issues

Enforcement successes are there, but in a growing market where supply chains are getting more and more complex, where many hands are involved, where new fraud scandals are unveiled every year, it is time for regulatory changes. The NOP is now in the "hot phase" of introducing the "Strenghtening Organic Enforcement Rule". In our video below, Jennifer explains what the rule is all about. You can flick through all her powerpoint-slides underneath.