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Ripe for fraud? The challenges of keeping locally grown products in Certified Farmers Markets by Kimberly Rivers
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kimberly@vcreporter.com
entura County loves it’s Certified Farmers Markets (CFM). These community markets provide a direct link between the grower and the consumer. On the designated market day, a local parking lot is transformed by bustling farmers setting up tables and booths, from which they sell fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, eggs, and any number of locally grown products. There are no middlemen, grocery stores or distribution chains. There are also no size, packaging or label requirements. But there is one very important requirement for farmers market sellers: They must have grown and produced what they are selling. A seller cannot go, for example, to a local packing house and purchase seconds wholesale from a big grower and pass it off as something they grew. A beekeeper cannot buy a barrel of honey from another beekeeper or another country, pour it into their bottles, slap their label on it and sell it. An orange grower with a small ranch of 50 trees that is selling year round at CFMs in quantities that would require 100 or more acres sends up a red flag. Even if a product is produced in the state or county, if the grower selling a potato didn’t grow that potato, it’s fraud. This requirement is at the heart of the history of farmers markets. “Back in the late ’70s there was a cannery strike,” said Ed Williams, Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner (AgComm). Williams worked for 30 years with the state’s agricultural department and for six years with Los Angeles County. He said the state’s peach growers were hit hard and their “crop was falling on the ground” as the canneries were closed during the strike. The peach growers wanted to market their fresh fruit directly to the consumers, but they were restricted by labeling and packaging requirements. The state authorized “emergency relief” that allowed the growers to sell their peaches directly to consumers — and thus sowed the seeds that would become “the Certified Farmers Market program in California.” In 1978, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the Direct Marketing Act, which created the certification rules touted as a way to promote state-grown produce being sold locally and help ensure that growers would always have a way to sell their products directly to the public regardless of what was happening up the processing or distribution chain. That act also designates the local AgComm as the agency responsible for certifying growers to sell at farmers markets, and lays out the penalties for violations. Sell only what you grow
Farmers markets are a booming business. In a 2002 agricultural census report, Ventura County ranked 20th in the nation, with $3.3 million in annual direct sales through farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture. To get certified, a grower applies to the local AgComm and lists the various things they grow, produce and want to sell at a farmers market. An AgComm inspector will come out to the farm and visually verify that a person applying to sell, say, Meyer lemons is not actually growing Eureka lemons. Certification is very specific. Wendi Mitchell of Ventura-based Blue Ridge Honey was cited in January 2019 when a staff member packing up for the market inadvertently grabbed one jar of honey infused with cannabidiol (CBD) oil, extracted from the cannabis plant. This particular product was created in partnership with 101CBD. Blue Ridge did not produce the CBD oil itself. It was only supposed to be sold at Blue Ridge Honey’s storefront in Ventura, but accidentally ended up at the market. Blue Ridge was cited, attended a hearing and ultimately paid a fine for the mistake. But Mitchell points to an issue with how certifications Dave Mitchell tending Blue Ridge Honey Hives.
are issued. “On my ag certificate, I don’t just have the hives, but every fruit tree growing in my yard. I have one tangelo tree. It’s basically my husband’s vodka screwdriver tree. But I could easily drive down, fill up a box truck of tangelos, go to all 16 markets and sell from my one tree.” She said it’s the same with a “producer with one tree, one beehive, one garden box,” because the system lacks any limits. “Our job is to verify they are actually growing” the product they are certified to sell, explained Williams about certification inspections. “We make sure they have the product in the ground, and list all [products] on the certificate.” Growers are recertified each year. AgComm inspectors also verify that the grower is still growing what they are certified to sell during the selling season. Once certified by a county AgComm, growers can sell those products at any CFM in the state.
“Truth in advertising”
Mitchell said that with the growth in revenue possible at farmers markets, some people are finding ways to “cheat the system and turn a higher profit with less work involved.” Williams noted that growers do get caught for trying to boost quantities, for example by buying a product wholesale from a packing house and then selling it at a CFM “representing that they grew that product.” When asked if there are certain products that the public should watch for not being grown by the vendor, he said “all agricultural crops” are potentially being grown by someone else. He listed honey, eggs, fruit and vegetables of particular of interest. “Our job at a farmers market is to make sure the products they are selling are listed on the certificate,” said Williams. Growers must also use a “sealed scale” that is accurately weighing items sold by weight. “Our key objective in the entire program” is to ensure a vendor is
“not misrepresenting the products they are selling.” Inspectors look for certain things that could mean a product wasn’t grown by that seller. Potatoes that are all the same size, with very few blemishes. “Certain things pretty obviously have gone through commercial processing.” Frequently a grower will buy a product from a packing house for wholesale prices, remove the labels and put them out on their table at a farmers market. The product was grown in California, but not by that grower. Williams emphasized that is still misrepresenting and goes against the intent of farmers markets. “It’s fraud . . . Truth in advertising, that is the key.”
Due process in the face of violations
On April 25, two vendors at the Channel Islands Harbor Farmers Market were cited. One was selling a product not listed on their certification. Williams explained that often, this sort of citation is simply a “fix-it ticket.” AgComm will verify the grower had that product in the ground and add it to the permit. The other vendor cited was selling an item they didn’t grow or produce — a much more serious issue. Williams said they “have reason to believe” the grower was selling a product they didn’t grow, and his office expects to levy a civil penalty fine, but the investigation is still active. The violation process includes an offer of a hearing, and the grower can appeal any finding. The fines are a civil penalty and can be “minor, moderate or serious.” Fines range from $400 to $1,000 per violation, said Williams. According to state law, fines can range up to $5,000. “We very rarely suspend a certificate on a first violation,” Williams said. But his office has the authority to do that “for up to 18 months, that would be most likely for a repeat violation.” Williams said parts of the law limit AgComm’s discretion when it comes to granting certification to growers who have had violations and even fines in the past. “As June 3, 2021 —
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