The Agriculture Department is banning a food inspector from certifying organic food in China

Ag Dept to drop organic food inspector in China

WASHINGTON — The New York Times reports that the Agriculture Department has banned a leading American inspector of organic foods in China for conflicts of interest.

The Organic Crop Improvement Association of Nebraska allegedly used Chinese government employees to inspect farms and food processing facilities that are state controlled.

The ban is to be formally announced Monday.

The Times reports that some of the products inspected by the association were used to manufacture store brand products for Whole Foods Market, the nation’s largest organic retailer.

The decision to ban the food inspectors follows consumers’ shaken confidence about the safety of food and other products exported from China.