As the U.S. Department of Agriculture prepares to launch its Strengthening Organic Enforcement regulations March 19, some wonder if unprepared companies will get left behind.

The new rule is the most significant change to organic certification since the programs start in 1990, and theres growing concern that large portions of the food industry importers, brokers, handlers and distributors havent made the necessary compliance changes.

Nate Ensrud shares this fear. As an executive with FoodChain ID, one of the largest organic certifiers in the U.S., hes noticed little action across the industry to meet SOEs changes.

Heres why thats a problem and how the industry can rise to the challenge.

Over the past three decades, the growth of the organic industry has out-scaled its initial regulations.Thats led to gaps in enforcement that allowed for loopholes and outright fraud.

The SOE rule is part of USDAs continuous improvement of the organic standards to meet the growing complexity of food supply chains, said a spokesperson for the USDAs Agricultural Marketing Service.

SOE closes gaps in the current regulations by making sure USDA can more completely oversee and enforce the supply chain that takes a certified organic product from farm to market, the spokesperson added. We are closing loopholes specifically in the certification process by requiring organic certification of more businesses in the supply chain, like brokers and traders that were not previously required to be certified. This better protects the USDA organic seal and keeps fraud out of the market.

Just days away from the deadline, Ensrud believes that non-compliance is inevitable and it will be disruptive.

Unfortunately, over the last few months, the net change in USDA National Organic Program (NOP) certified organic operations in the U.S. was essentially zero, Ensrud said That means there are thousands of companies, foreign and domestic, in the organic food supply chain that will need new certification.

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He believes that companies out of compliance will feel the pinch in a bevy of ways.

Heres one example, Ensrud said. Suppose a manufacturer of organic breakfast cereals finds that a handler of organic raisins in their supply chain hasnt pursued certification in light of SOE. Now the manufacturer must find a replacement, and it might suffer production disruption in the meantime.

Ensrud believes the most significant issue remains a need for more information.

Some organic suppliers are still unaware of the March 19 compliance requirements. Because importers, exporters, brokers, traders, and storage facilities have not historically been required to be certified, we believe there will be an increase in last-minute organic certification applications.

Ensrud is working to get the word out to avoid this pileup. Were reaching out to our customers with the message protect your supply chain. We recommend that organizations look at all suppliers on their supply chain and reach out to them to ensure they are aware of the new regulations and, if they need to apply for certification, to do so immediately.

As a starting point, he suggests that businesses perform self-assessments to gain insight into whether their operations require certification under the new regulations. FoodChain ID provides a quick starting point, and companies can also schedule a quick consultation with our organic certification experts here.

While the certification process seems overwhelming at the start, engaging with food certification or compliance companies offers a supportive way to meet the deadline without an interruption in the supply chain.

This story was originally published on Food Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Food Dive newsletter.

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