"certification" news and stories

With all of the news of food recalls due to potential risk food-borne illness, the world seems like a scary place. It seems like a place where you can't even trust the government to protect us from bad food. Some would argue that is the case. Well, a group of cattle and beef producers have gotten together to ensure that you can trust your food, at least your beef and they have created a label to prove it.

The VeriPrime group is a new organization of independent ranchers and farmers that have established a rigorous new set of rules and procedures for raising/producing cattle and beef. They claim that their certification process is much more thorough and exacting than current government regulations. The rules were developed by veterinarians and nutritionists, and are ensured by "independent third-party audits." VeriPrime hopes to expand the label to cover other meats, poultry, dairy, and vegetables in the future.

If you see this label on beef products in your supermarket, you're supposed to know that it's totally safe. Call me cynical, but just because they say it doesn't make it necessarily true. I do think that any extra level of certification is a good thing. Isn't it also usually the case that industries which police themselves are generally more trustworthy (seriously, I'm asking)? All I can say is that, while I hope that this is a good thing, no label can be a 100% guarantee.

Pressing on with their intentions to improve the company's image, McDonald's has started to serve 100% Rainforest Alliance certified coffee beans. Rainforest Alliance is a New York-based nonprofit that certifies coffee production farms and facilities to a set of standards that mandate specific environmental protection policies, workers' rights and community involvement and the group says that McDonald's intends to expand the use of their certified coffee from the UK to the rest of their European outlets over the course of the year. For now, the coffee will be available in all 1,200 outlets of McDonald's UK, making the company the first major retailer in the country to use such a certification.

Many McDonald's outlets in the US offer fair-trade certified coffee from Green Mountain Coffee, but there is no nationwide policy mandating the use of one specifically certified coffee.

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After a recent exposé, of sorts, that took a very close look over whether the organic label could be trusted, the USDA has finally taken action against an organic certifier that was not performing to the standards that consumers expect. It revoked the accreditation of the American Food Safety Institute International in Wisconsin for multiple violations of the National Organic Program's (NOP) policies. The violations include:

• "Providing certification services to operations to which American Food Safety's president, Karl Kolb, currently provides consulting services.
• Failing to provide a full disclosure of conflicts of interest in its application for accreditation.
• Issuing an organic certification to an operation that used seeds that had been treated with prohibited substances.
• Failing to issue notices of noncompliance and proposed revocation or suspension to a company that had violated NOP regulations."

All of the farms and businesses that were certified by the American Food Safety, which did not appeal on the grounds that "the work didn't fit its business model," must find other certifying agents.

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In an investigation done by the Dallas Morning News (DMN), it was discovered that the USDA does not always enforce its organic standards, or at least, they have taken no action against people who violate the standards except to ask a few products to remove the label. There have been no fines or legal action taken against scofflaws, which ultimately hurts the many organic farmers who passionately support their choice to produce organic goods and often go far above and beyond the industry standards.

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For many shoppers, knowing that their food is organic is important. They don't like the idea of their food being treated with chemicals and other unknown substances before it reaches them. These same shoppers' interest in their food now extends all the way back to the farm - and not just for vegetables and fruits. The movement for seeing "certified humane" labeling on animal products is gaining popularity.

The label originated in 2003, when the nonprofit Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) developed a set of standards by which the quality of life and care for farm animals could be judged and designed a label to bring that standard of care to public attention. The USDA verifies the process. The "Certified Humane Raised & Handled" label means that a producer has passed inspection and certifies that their meat, poultry, egg and/or dairy animals are raised to humane care standards. Standards require that the animals have access to clean water and sufficient food and live in a comfortable environment, protected from the elements in inclement weather but with plenty of room to move and exercise naturally. Caretakers must also be trained in animal husbandry and welfare, and there is a prohibition on growth hormones and antibiotics.

 

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