Source: Sustainable Food News 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) is reporting suspensions of 13 organic certificates in August.

So far, in FY2017, a total of 224 operations have had their organic certificates suspended, with 56 of those in the third quarter, which ended June 30, and another 42 in July and August. Eleven operations have had their organic certificates revoked in FY2017, including seven in the third quarter.

In the past five years, the NOP said it has suspended or revoked more than 900 organic operations because of violations of federal organic standards. "A suspended or revoked operation can’t sell, label, or represent its products as having been organically produced or handled," the agency said.

According to the NOP's Organic Integrity Database, the following operations had their organic certificates suspended in August:

• Asprocafe Norperu Coffee- Jaen, Peru - Certifier: CERES Certification of Environmental Standards - GmbH (Ltd.)
• Cannon Ag Products LLC- Turbeville, S.C. - Certifier: International Certification Services, Inc. (ICS)
• Félix Ruiz Sánchez- Limón, Costa Rica - Certifier: Eco-Logica 
• GFE Produce S.A.- Guanacaste Costa Rica - Certifier: Eco-Logica
• Goose Lake Farms- Hebron, Ill. - Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) 
• Harvest Pressed Inc.- Saxonville, Mass. - Certifier: Baystate Organic Certifiers (BOC)
• Metco S.A. de C.V.- Mexico City, Mexico - Certifier: Organic Certifiers, Inc.
• Randy Bredvik Farm- New Effington, S.D. - Certifier: Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA)
• River Run Farms- Vance, S.C. - Certifier: Clemson University
• Rodeo Fruit dba Finca Dueñas- Los Arrayanes, Sinaloa, Mexico - Certifier: Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) 
• Stang Farm- Watkins, Minn. - Certifier: Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA)
• Thunder Valley Organics- David City, Neb. - Certifier: Organic Certifiers, Inc.
• Tracon Trading plc- Ethiopia - Certifier: CERES Certification of Environmental Standards - GmbH (Ltd.)

In July, these 30 operations had their organic certificate suspended:

• 1860 Organics - Cato, N.Y. - Certifier: Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY)
• ALM Distributors, LLC - Melrose Park, Ill. - Certifier: Quality Assurance International (QAI)
• Aram Foods Tarim Gida Insaat Petrol Nakliyat Sanayi Ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. - Mardin, Turkey - Certifier: Control Union Certifications (CUC)
• Big Head Farm, Inc. - Benton Harbor, Mich. - Certifier: Midwest Organic Services Association, Inc. (MOSA)
• Boulder Altan Alma Organic Farm - Boulder, Colo. - Certifier: Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA)
• Cascade Cuts, Ltd. - Bellingham, Wash. - Certifier: Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA)
• Ellingson, Bruce - Park River, N.D. - Certifier: International Certification Services, Inc. (ICS)
• Everblossom Farm - East Berlin, Pa. - Certifier: NOFA-NY
• Grafted Growers, LLC dba Grafted Growers - Tucson, Ariz. - CCOF Certification Services, LLC
• Hillman, Ray - Pikeville, N.C. - Certifier: Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO)
• Jason Zalman - El Campo, Texas - Certifier: OTCO
• John Schols - Olympia, Wash. - Certifier: WSDA
• Klein & Sons Farms LLC - Loranger, La. - Certifier: ICS
• Klinekrest Organic Produce - Lyons, Mich. - Certifier: MOSA
• Laura's Original Boston Brownies, Inc. - San Diego, Calif. - Certifier: ICS
• Lupo Farm / Naturally Grass Fed LLC - Fort Ann, N.Y. - Certifier: NOFA-NY
• Lynch Farms - Grant, Mich. - Certifier: MOSA
• Mengedoht Farm - Herman, Neb. - Certifier: OCIA
• Menno Miller - Bloomfield, Neb. - Certifier: OCIA
• Milk Specialties Company Mountain Lake - Mountain Lake, Minn. - Certifier: OCIA
• Minunata Xenia SRL - Gratiesti Moldova - Certifier: CERES
• Ordos Lufuyuan Biological Technology Co., Ltd. - China - Certifier: CERES
• Piedmont Burley LLC - Roxboro, N.C. - Certifier: ICS
• Ron Wenger - Powhattan, Kan. - Certifier: OCIA
• Shandong Dongsheng Eastsun Foods Co., Ltd. - Shandong, China - Certifier: EcoCert S.A.
• Shelly's Farms - Franklinton, La. - Certifier: ICS
• Simple Coop Organics - Johnsville, N.Y. - Certifier: NOFA-NY
• Sociedad Tergreen Ltda. - Chile - Certifier: CERES
• Titanic's Organic Farm - Milton, N.Y. - Certifier: NOFA-NY