Schmale, Valerie - AMS
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Schmale, Valerie - AMS From: Albrecht Benzing <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 2:46 PM To: Schmale, Valerie - AMS Cc: [email protected]; Gebault King, ReneeA - AMS Subject: AW: Registered: RE: Registered: NOPC-024-14 Zhejiang Tea Group, Co., Ltd. Attachments: ZJ Tea Group NOP label approval 15.09.04.pdf Dear Valerie, apologies for the delay! This story has been going back and forth for months now… What we have been able to find out so far: 1. The tea for which you had submitted the non compliant label, had been sold to the US market in 2013, when ZJ Tea Group was still under IMO certification. As you probably know, IMO gave up their activities in China, and most of the clients moved to CERES. 2. ZJ Tea Group says they never sold tea with this packaging. In the past (2013), they used to sell some tea with this labeling: This is of course not compliant either. What is displayed here (instead of "certified organic by…"), was the IMO certificate number ("Certificate number 110834‐I.V.‐NOP"). 3. ZJ Tea Group suspects that the tea with the packaging displayed in your letter, might have been sold to the US through a Chinese export company called Wenzhou Snow. ZJ Tea Group used to sell some organic tea to this company. To our knowledge, this company is currently not certified any longer. 1 4. According to what we have been able to find out, ZJ Tea Group has not been selling any organic tea to the US since they were first certified by CERES in July 2014. 5. The only retail labels that CERES has approved for ZJ Tea Group so far, are the ones in the attached recent document. However, teas with this packaging have not entered the market so far. 6. Today, we have finally received a top management commitment from ZJ Tea Group, recognising mistakes in tea labeling in the past, and promising to submit any packto CERES for approval before printing. I hope this finally clarifies the issue and allows you to close the case? Sorry again for the terrible delay! Albrecht Albrecht Benzing, CERES GmbH Von: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Gesendet: Mittwoch, 9. September 2015 15:34 An: benzing@ceres‐cert.com Cc: ordowski@ceres‐cert.com; [email protected] Betreff: Registered: RE: Registered: NOPC‐024‐14 Zhejiang Tea Group, Co., Ltd. Wichtigkeit: Hoch R m m P R m This is a Registered Email® message from Schmale Valerie - AMS. Dear Mr. Benzing: I am inquiring to see if there is an update regarding this complaint. I have not heard back from you since we granted the extension for the investigation. Best Regards, Val From: Albrecht Benzing [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, April 03, 2015 5:20 AM To: Schmale, Valerie - AMS Cc: 'Regina Ordowski'; Gebault King, ReneeA - AMS Subject: AW: Registered: NOPC-024-14 Zhejiang Tea Group, Co., Ltd. Dear Mrs. Schmale, Thanks for the notification. We are investigating the case. So far we have found out that our client Zhejiang Tea Group Co. Ltd., does not seem to sell tea with this packaging on the US market. Even the email address [email protected], as indicated on the packaging, is not their official email. We are yet to find out who is actually behind this, and if this tea is organic at all. We therefore would like to ask you for an extension of the deadline for investigation, until April 20, 2015. 2 Thanks for your understanding! Albrecht Benzing, CERES GmbH Von: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Gesendet: Montag, 9. März 2015 17:18 An: benzing@ceres‐cert.com Cc: ceres@ceres‐cert.com Betreff: Registered: NOPC‐024‐14 Zhejiang Tea Group, Co., Ltd. Wichtigkeit: Hoch This is a Registered Email® message from Schmale Valerie - AMS. Dear Mr. Benzing: Please see the attached with regard to a complaint filed against your client, Zhejiang Tea Group, Co., Ltd. Best Regards, Valerie Schmale Ag. Mkt. Specialist – Regulatory NOP Compliance & Enforcement Division (202) 205‐7804 – Office (202) 205‐7808 – Fax 1400 Independence Ave., S.W. Room 2648‐S, STOP 0268 Washington, D.C. 20250‐0268 Organic Integrity from Farm to Table, Consumers Trust the Organic Label NOP Mission: Ensure the integrity of USDA organic products in the U.S. and throughout the world. Subscribe to the USDA organic insider, just click here. Words to live by: “If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign that you’re not doing anything very innovative.” – Woody Allen This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately. Click here to send a Registered Email® message to anyone. 3 Click here to send a Registered Email® message to anyone. R m m B BB 4 4.6.10.2 en T Label Approval NOP v 31.12.2012 1/3 To Zhejiang Tea Group Co., Ltd. 浙江省茶叶集团股份有限公司 218 Ti Yu Chang Road, Hangzhou City Zhejiang Province, PR China 中国浙江省杭州市体育场路218号 Vorderhaslach 1 91230 Happurg Germany 4th September 2015 Approval of your organic retail labels according to NOP Aspects which have been verified O.k. Not Comment applicable Traceability back to the producer is assured Bar code (through producer or distributor name, code number, lot number if applicable) Identification as Organic Correct listing of ingredients "Organic" Certifier name placed under producer name, with the words “Certified organic by…” In case a non certified distributor is mentioned A distributor is mentioned on the label instead of the CERES certified in addition to the operator, declaration 7.2.3 has been signed. producer, therefore no additional declaration required Correct use of USDA organic logo Black & white Correct use of CERES logo Not used Important Notes: 1. The label design which you submitted for "Green Tea with Jujube & Osmanthus" cannot be approved because the 5% Osmanthus flowers are conventional. This blend would qualify only for a "Made with …% organic ingredients" claim, not for an "organic" claim. Please revert back either with a modified label, or let us know if you withdraw your application for approval of this label. Attached please find the NOP handbook regarding labelling of "made with…" products. __________________________________________________________________________________________ CERES CERtification of Environmental Standards GmbH; Domicile: Happurg Tel: +49 (9158) 92 82 90; Fax: +49 (9158) 92 898 62; Email: [email protected]; www.ceres-cert.com Managing Partners: A. Benzing, B. Schulz, U. Findel; Place of Jurisdiction: Nuremberg Commercial Register: B 21261, Nuremberg; Tax No: 241/123/31200; VAT No: DE 814126518 4.6.10.2 en T Label Approval NOP v 31.12.2012 2/3 2. The labels below do not comply with requirements of Regulation (EC) 834/07 because the letters under the EU logo are not legible. Therefore, the present approval only refers to NOP. Please submit a corrected label for the EU market! The following labels have been approved: __________________________________________________________________________________________ CERES CERtification of Environmental Standards GmbH; Domicile: Happurg Tel: +49 (9158) 92 82 90; Fax: +49 (9158) 92 898 62; Email: [email protected]; www.ceres-cert.com Managing Partners: A. Benzing, B. Schulz, U. Findel; Place of Jurisdiction: Nuremberg Commercial Register: B 21261, Nuremberg; Tax No: 241/123/31200; VAT No: DE 814126518 4.6.10.2 en T Label Approval NOP v 31.12.2012 3/3 Albrecht Benzing, CERES GmbH __________________________________________________________________________________________ CERES CERtification of Environmental Standards GmbH; Domicile: Happurg Tel: +49 (9158) 92 82 90; Fax: +49 (9158) 92 898 62; Email: [email protected]; www.ceres-cert.com Managing Partners: A. Benzing, B. Schulz, U. Findel; Place of Jurisdiction: Nuremberg Commercial Register: B 21261, Nuremberg; Tax No: 241/123/31200; VAT No: DE 814126518 浙江省茶叶集团 Page 1 of 2 Current Location:About Us > Company Brief Company Brief Development History Organization Enterprise Honor Brief Enterprise Culture Zhejiang Tea Group Co., Ltd. ( former as Zhejiang Tea Company that was Social Responsibility founded in 1950 ) is the largest tea enterprise in China and the no. 1 green tea exporter in the world,focusing on providing green and high quality tea and ready-to-drink tea to consumers all over the world. “Tea as the national beverage and Hangzhou as the tea capital”, Zhejiang Tea Group is located in the tea capital of China – Hangzhou. Mainly focusing in tea business, the company has witnessed a diversified development , and its products cover a wide range including tea, tea products, tea machinery, organic agricultural products , garments, textiles, daily necessity, hardware and chemical materials, with extensive sales channels in more than 60 countries. The group company is composed of 4 departments, 21 subsidiaries, 7 joint ventures and liaison offices in Japan, Mali, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo. Having operated for more than 50 years in tea industry, Zhejiang Tea Group has been the leading tea manufacturer in China now. By inheriting the essence of Chinese tea culture of 2000 years, our group has integrated the traditional tea processing crafts with the modern technique, and focused on developing new tea products to cover needs of the modern society. Zhejiang Tea Group is also particularly devoted to improve the living conditions for those who grow and harvest teas. Together with the local government, our group helps tea farmers to improve the manufacturing facilities and working conditions, and seek for making the tea industry beneficial to customers, investors and all tea farmers.