FTC, USDA Issue Agenda for Roundtable on Consumer Perceptions of “Organic” Claims

The Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the agenda for their upcoming joint-agency roundtable on consumer perceptions of “organic” claims for non-agricultural products. The event, first announced in August, will be held in Washington, DC, on October 20, 2016.

Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection will provide welcoming remarks at 9:00 am, followed by an introduction to the day’s discussions by Miles McEvoy, Deputy Administrator of the USDA’s National Organic Program within its Agricultural Marketing Service. Gin Jin, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Economics, will provide closing remarks for the half-day event. Invited speakers will discuss three topics regarding consumer perceptions of organic claims.

The first discussion will begin at 9:30 am, and will focus on consumer misconceptions of organic claims in the marketplace and the conclusions and limitations of the evidence concerning those misconceptions for non-agricultural products. The second session, starting at 10:45 am, will discuss different potential approaches to improving organic claims to prevent deception. The third and final session will begin at noon and will cover broader policy approaches to address potentially deceptive claims.

The event will take place at the FTC’s Constitution Center offices, 400 7th St. SW, Washington, DC, with registration from 7:45 am to 9:00 am. The event will end by 1:30 pm. Additional details on the roundtable and speakers can be found on the event’s webpage. The event is free and open to the public, and will be webcast live. No pre-registration is required. FTC staff will live-tweet the event @FTC using hashtag #OrganicFTC-USDA.

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