The National Organic Program, which has never before sent an auditor to China, now plans to make surprise visits to organic operations there, in the wake of numerous revelations about safety problems with Chinese products.
    Roger Blobaum, an agricultural consultant, writes about the extent of Chinese involvement in the U.S. organic market in the September/October issue of The Organic Broadcaster, newspaper of the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service.
    “The U.S. government is clueless about how much organic food is imported from China,” he writes.  “The Department of Commerce uses hundreds of 10-digit codes to track and report imports. But there is no code to identify organic products. As a result, both the USDA and the Commerce Department lack information on how much organic food is imported, or its country of origin.”
    Other sources estimate that China contributes about 5 percent of the global organic food market. It is a reliable supplier of tea, dry beans, rice, vegetables, and soybeans. In Europe, more than a third of the organic soybeans used in processing come from China.