USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP) – Strengthening Organic Enforcement regulations became mandatory on March 19, 2024

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP) – Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) regulations have become mandatory as of March 19, 2024. Here's an overview of the key filing requirements:

Purpose: Published on January 19, 2023, the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule aims to safeguard organic integrity and enhance confidence in the USDA organic seal.
Key Provisions: The SOE supports robust organic control systems, improves farm-to-market traceability, bolsters import oversight authority, and enforces organic regulations.
NOP Import Certificates: Effective March 19, 2024, each shipment of imported organic agricultural products into the US must be accompanied by an NOP Import Certificate issued by an accredited certifying agent. Importers must also be certified under this rule.
Certified Exporters/Final Handlers: They must request an NOP Import Certificate from their accredited certifier to export certified organic products to the US.
Certifier Authority: Both USDA-accredited certifiers and certifiers recognized under NOP's equivalence or recognition arrangements can issue NOP Import Certificates.
Certificate Issuance: Import certificates can be issued for single or multiple shipments or a specific time frame, depending on certifiers' oversight systems. One NOP Import Certificate is issued per commodity/product or Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code.
Processing: Accredited certifiers generate the NOP Import Certificate in the USDA's Organic Integrity Database (INTEGRITY) and provide it to exporters/final handlers.
Submission: Exporters/final handlers must provide the electronic NOP Import Certificate to US importers for entry into the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

For more detailed information, please refer to the official USDA AMS website: Strengthening Organic Enforcement