Background

There has always been a stream of rumours and allegations, suggesting that there might be relevant undetected fraud in the organic sector. This concerns in particular international trade. There is limited trust in international certification. Traders have their quality management system, detect and reject goods but these may then be sold to other traders in other countries. Exchange of information is slow. Lack of communication, coordination and cooperation between the trade, certifiers and authorities, sometimes nationally but especially internationally.

During Biofach 2007 the level of rumours was such that three individuals, all with a history in organic farming and conformity assessment, started what became known as the Anti Fraud Initiative (AFI). A first tripartite meeting in Bonn, in the Agriculture Ministry confirmed the seriousness of the topic, the need for joint action, and a process of information exchange was started.

From this time onwards, workshops and seminars took place in several countries around the world, with the aim to identify fraud situations and possible counter actions.

On purpose AFI is organised by three individuals belonging to organisations with a long standing reputation in the organic sector. As much as possible they work through sector organisations to avoid politicking, to avoid that some companies, or some certifiers dominate the process. The AFI-meetings have been sponsored by governments and the sector organisations.

The result is that stakeholders better understand and trust each other, and see each other's limitations. There is a commitment in the organic sector to address fraud jointly. It is clear what can be done and how. There is a need to continue with the open, participatory process.