MOA Suspended? Certification Body Clarifies: It Can Only Not Accept New Applications, Products Are Fine

Yesterday, while taking questions at the Legislative Yuan, the Council of Agriculture unexpectedly revealed that two domestic certification bodies, the International Nature Farming Ecological Foundation (MOA) and the Taiwan Tea Association, had been temporarily suspended by the Agriculture and Food Agency because pesticide residues were detected. However, the Taiwan Accreditation Foundation (TAF), which manages certification bodies, clarified today that MOA was cited because an auditor's audit had flaws, and after correction the situation was still not ideal, so MOA was temporarily barred from accepting new certifications. This is not a suspension of its accreditation, which means that organic products already certified by MOA on the market are still valid.

TAF: MOA's acceptance of business is suspended, not its accreditation

There are 12 organic certification bodies in the country. Under the Agricultural Production and Certification Management Act, organic certification bodies must undergo TAF assessment, and only after passing accreditation can they begin organic certification; they must also pass TAF evaluation every year. The MOA and the Taiwan Tea Association, the main parties in this incident, are precisely the ones that failed TAF's follow-up inspection this year.

However, when MOA was interviewed yesterday by a NewsMarket reporter, it said it was not punished because pesticide residues were found in tested products; the main reason was that the auditor's audit was inadequate. Earlier, MOA also issued a statement on its website saying the foundation was penalized for failing to meet TAF's requirements, that it had already improved, and that it had arranged for the competent authority to witness the assessment, but this was not a suspension or revocation of certification. The foundation's certificate is valid until November 13 this year, and it has likewise arranged for the competent authority to reassess and extend its qualification.

Li Pu-hsien, deputy director of TAF's accreditation division, also confirmed MOA's account. He said MOA's auditing was inaccurate: farmers applying for organic certification for short-term leafy vegetables were instead growing root and tuber crops, and the auditor did not effectively check this. After correction the situation was still poor, so TAF took disciplinary action.

However, Li Pu-hsien clarified that MOA simply cannot temporarily accept new certification business, not the "suspension of accreditation" reported by the media. In other words, organic products already certified by MOA on the market are still valid, but an organic certificate is valid for only 3 years, and if the certification of farmers under it expires, MOA cannot accept them again.

He further pointed out that TAF is merely an accreditation body commissioned by the Agriculture and Food Agency, and related legal penalties must still go back to the Agriculture and Food Agency. As for the Taiwan Tea Association, which said yesterday in a NewsMarket interview that it had withdrawn from certification due to a shortage of manpower, Li Pu-hsien said no relevant official document had been received and the matter was still being verified.

Agriculture and Food Agency: It is not the certified products that have problems; they just need time to improve auditing procedures

The Agriculture and Food Agency also issued a press release this afternoon clarifying that MOA was cited because there were deficiencies in its auditing procedures and it had not effectively improved; the Taiwan Tea Association, meanwhile, changed its certification management system on its own without notifying TAF, and after deliberation it was decided to suspend its acceptance of new certification clients until it improves and passes TAF review. This is not a suspension of accreditation.

In June, MOA announced on its website that it would stop accepting certification business, but the reason given was "busy business." Chuang Lao-ta, head of the Agriculture and Food Agency's Agricultural Materials Division, said MOA's problem was not with certified products, so the Agriculture and Food Agency did not publicize it widely and gave them a chance to improve, as is the case under international regulations as well.

Chuang Lao-ta said that depending on the circumstances, TAF gives a 2 to 3 month improvement period, but certification companies usually work hard to improve because the disciplinary action directly affects the company's survival, and a certificate is valid for only 3 years. "If they don't improve, the farmers will all leave, and in the end they will collapse."

Cixin: The failure rate of organic products is extremely low; the frequent attacks recently are unfair

MOA is a pioneer in promoting organic farming in the country. Founded in 1990, it often holds natural farming exchange meetings and also organizes group visits to Japan every year. In 1999, when the Council of Agriculture opened applications for organic agricultural product certification bodies, MOA obtained qualification the following year, making it a veteran of domestic organic certification. With this negative news breaking, the organic sector was in an uproar, and many organizations were unwilling to comment.

Chung Chun-yuan, manager of the equally veteran Cixin Organic Certification Co., Ltd., said MOA has a good reputation in the industry and "works very seriously." The Agriculture and Food Agency samples and tests 2,000 organic products every year, with a failure rate of only 1%, figures similar to imported international organic products. But recently organic products have repeatedly come under attack, which is unfair to dedicated businesses and farmers.

Chung Chun-yuan said TAF audits according to the ISO 17065 standard, a globally used standard. In addition to sampling and testing pesticides and labeling of products on the market, it also reviews inspection reports every year. "We have to keep our reports for 3 years, and when TAF comes it looks at them for a whole day."

Auditors are also a key focus of management. Chung Chun-yuan said that in addition to checking whether certification bodies regularly train auditors, TAF also goes to work sites and requires auditors to inspect factories on the spot. Including both scheduled and unscheduled inspections, certification bodies are inspected by TAF at least once a year, but he said Cixin accounts for one third of all organic certification area in Taiwan, and by September this year it had already been inspected 3 times.

However, some auditors also revealed that farming requires knowledge and experience, and some auditors do not have enough practical experience, so if unscrupulous farmers deliberately deceive them, it is easy to be fooled.

Li Pu-hsien said TAF looks at an organization's quality to decide how many inspections to conduct, covering items including whether field testing and certification procedures comply with regulations, the organization's internal assessment of auditors, and auditors' field practices. If pesticide residues are detected in products from a certification body's farmers, the body will be required to go back to the fields and the market to sample and test again. If problems persist, the certification body's license will be revoked.