Risk-based Oversight for Integrity Act

Key Points

• This bill changes how the government checks organic farms to make sure they are following the rules. Instead of requiring an in-person visit every single year for every farm, some domestic farms could have virtual inspections.
• Domestic organic farms would still get an in-person visit at least once every three years. In the years between, the Department of Agriculture could use video calls or other digital tools to check on farms that have a good history of following the law.
• Farms located outside of the United States would still be required to have in-person inspections every year. This ensures that food imported from other countries meets the same high standards as food grown at home.
• The bill asks the Department of Agriculture to study how to focus its resources on high-risk operations. The goal is to make things easier and cheaper for small, low-risk farmers while spending more time watching businesses that are more likely to break the rules.
• Businesses that handle organic food but never actually touch it, like certain brokers or shippers, could also move to virtual inspections. This helps cut down on paperwork and travel costs for companies that do not pose a high risk to food safety.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.