Organic industry hit by synthetic contamination

Sacramento-The organic food industry was thrown for a loop last week when the Sacramento Bee reported that California Liquid Fertilizer had been doctoring its organic fish and feather fertilizer with ammonium sulfate for years. According to the paper, the company may have been doing so for up to seven years and had been under investigation since June 2004, when a whistle blower alerted the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Even so, the CDFA took a long time to complete its investigation and did not order the company to take the product off the market until January 2007. The Bee said the CDFA kept the matter confidential for over a year and a half after the product was removed from the market. The farms that used the product have not been penalized since they did not know of the spiking. The CDFA told the paper that it did not pursue harsh penalties against the company because its goal was to focus on getting the product off the market in a case that was labeled complex. The company was believed to have one-third of the organic fertilizer market in California, according to the paper. The source of the ammonium sulfate was believed to have been by-product AS from a plant in Decatur, Ill., reportedly Archer Daniels Midland. California Liquid Fertilizer, with a plant in Gonzales, Calif., was a unit of United Organic Products LLC, which was bought by Converted Organics Inc., Boston, in January 2008 (GM Feb. 4, 2008, p. 12). In the acquisition, Converted Organics acquired a liquid fertilizer product line, as well as the production facility that services a West Coast agribusiness customer base through established distribution channels. The purchase price of $2.5 million was paid in cash of $1.5 million and a note payable of $1 million. United Organic Chief Executive Peter Townsley remained with Converted Organics as executive vice president and chief technology officer, overseeing California operations. Converted Organics had not responded to inquiries at press time.