The U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided to ban a leading American inspection agency from operating in China, due to conflicts of interest between inspectors and companies they were certifying as organic, The New York Times reports.
The ban is likely to raise further consumer concerns about dangerous and poorly-regulated Chinese products, which in recent years have ranged from contaminated milk to lead-tainted toys. Whole Foods Market two years ago sold about 30 items with organic Chinese ingredients; this year, in response to consumer criticism, that number has declined to two.
The banned inspector, the Organic Crop Improvement Association, partnered with employees of a Chinese government agency to inspect state-controlled farms and food-processing factories. A department audit of the inspections uncovered at least 10 instances where inspectors potentially had a commercial interest in the companies they were certifying.
The Organic Crop Improvement Association began to shut down its activities in China last year in anticipation of the ban.
Zhou Zejiang, an advisor to the association’s Chinese inspections arm, argued that rather than shutting down the agency, the agriculture department could have replaced inspectors to resolve the conflicts.
