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Seth Goldman

Company: 
Eat the Change
Award: 
Social Impact
Year: 
2022
Headshot: 

The Social Impact Leadership Award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding efforts to be a source of positivity and stability for customers and organic community members during the pandemic and beyond. The winner of this year’s award is Seth Goldman, co-founder of Eat the Change and its recently launched brand, Just Ice Tea. Seth is an activist entrepreneur who has committed his career to bringing organic, environmentally-friendly food to the public, and to ensuring livable wages and healthy working conditions for his employees and the farmers who grow his products.  

Nicole Rakobitsch

Company: 
CROPP Cooperative/Organic Valley
Award: 
Organic Climate Action
Year: 
2022
Headshot: 

The Organic Climate Action Leadership Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated exemplary leadership in advancing organic solutions to mitigate climate change. This year’s award goes to Nicole Rakobitsch, Director of Sustainability for CROPP Cooperative/Organic Valley. Nicole is a leader in the climate-smart agriculture community and has spearheaded significant sustainability projects at Organic Valley and with its farmer members. 

April Jones Thatcher

Company: 
April Joy Farm
Award: 
Organic Farmer of the Year
Year: 
2022
Headshot: 

The Organic Farmer of the Year Leadership Award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to support and advance organic agriculture and trade at the farm level. Receiving that honor this year is April Jones Thatcher, owner of April Joy Farm in Washington state.

David Oien

Company: 
Timeless Seeds
Award: 
Organic Groundbreaker
Year: 
2022
Headshot: 

The Organic Groundbreaker Leadership Award recognizes long-standing OTA members who have dedicated their careers to advancing organic agriculture and trade by providing broad vision, innovative creations and solutions, and the work and leadership that turn dreams into reality. This year’s winner, David Oien, is a true organic pioneer. A third generation Montana farmer, David started farming in 1976 when he returned to his family’s wheat farm and transitioned it to organic, thus beginning his long and storied career in the industry.  

Best Practices for Non-Food Products and System Plan

Shoppers have come to trust and understand that organic products are 3rd party certified to strict standards and regulated and enforced by the federal government. However, organic claims made on non-food products such as processed fiber and textiles, personal care products and dietary supplements fall outside of USDA National Organic Program’s (NOP) scope of enforcement. These types of products may be certified to the NOP, but are not required to by law.

Best Practices for Online Retail and System Plan

Under SOE, all solely online retail establishments must be certified. Similar to brick-and-mortar retail operations, all organic claims on a website, social media and all forms of marketing must be truthful and not misleading to shoppers about the status of whether a product is organic or not. Pay attention to the word “organic” as well as the USDA organic seal, on webpages and other marketing, especially webpages where product can be ordered, including the “shopping cart.” Ensure that all products are labeled correctly.

Good Organic Practices for Private Labeling and System Plan

Retail establishments that sell private label organic products do not have to be a certified retailer, but the contract organization that manufactures or packages the products must be certified by an USDA accredited certifying agent. These products must be packaged prior to being received by the retailer, and remain in the same package or container and not be further processed by the retailer.

Grocery and Prepackaged Foods Best Practices and System Plan

Cleaning and Sanitizing

Cleaning and sanitizing the grocery and prepackaged foods department is similar to other departments. Follow the guidelines in Section 2 (Cleaning and Sanitizing) to prevent contamination.

Record Keeping

Good record keeping for the movement and processing of organic products allows for more transparency into the purchase and sale of organic products, helping retailers to maintain solid internal systems by effectively managing this process. Retail establishments are required to have documentation in place to demonstrate that they are receiving, storing, preparing, packaging, displaying and selling organic foods in a way that is not compromising organic integrity. The goal is for the retailer to demonstrate that the organic products are being managed effectively through their systems.

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