Cloning, Organic Fish and 606:
The NOSB Makes Recommendations on Several Important Issues at Spring Meeting

The National Organic Standards Board ambitiously took on one of their biggest to-do lists ever at the Spring Meeting held the end of March in Washington D.C. During this meeting, the board heard public comment, deliberated and voted on close to 60 items, nearly double the typical number. Out of these items, there were three main issues addressed:

Cloning. One of the most important outcomes of the meeting was the statement made by the board regarding cloning. This recommendation not only prohibits the use of cloned animals in organic production, but was extended to prohibit the use of the progeny of cloned animals as well.

Organic Aquaculture. Nearly 40 percent of those who offered public comment at the meeting, including Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program, came to talk about organic fish. The board’s Aquaculture Working Group and Livestock Committee have spent years developing a standard for organic fish but there were two items in the working group’s initial recommendation that caused quite a ripple in the organic aquaculture waters: 1) the allowance for open net pens which, among other things, have been linked to sea lice which some say can contaminate wild fish populations, and 2) the limited use of nonorganic sustainably caught wild fish to make fish feed for pescetarian fish like salmon.

These two controversial issues were pulled out of the recommendation for now and the NOSB plans to bring in representatives from each side and see if a compromise can be reached. In the meantime, as the recommendation now stands, the standard will allow certification for vegetarian, pond-raised fish such as catfish and tilapia, as well as pescetarian farm-raised fish that are fed a diet containing fish only from organic sources.

The 205.606 List. Most of the other recommendations were in response to the Harvey lawsuit ruling requiring all nonorganic, agricultural, minor ingredients to be listed on 205.606 of the National List by June 9, 2007. Almost half of these items were natural colors that were petitioned individually for 606 after the board voted to sunset the general category last October. Colors that the board recommended to list are discussed in this issue’s Ingredients column, “A Colorful Future for Organic”.

Other materials the board recommended to be added to the list include: celery powder, dill weed oil, fish oils (stabilized using only allowed ingredients), short chain FOS, inulin, galangal (frozen), hops, lemongrass (frozen), casings from processed intestines, chipotle peppers, rice starch (nonmodified), salvia hispanica, wakame linaria seaweed, sweet potato starch (bean thread), Turkish bay leaves and whey protein concentrate. Although these materials will be allowed, processors wanting to use materials on 205.606 must still first prove to their certifier that the material is not commercially available in organic form.

There were also several ingredients petitioned to 205.606 that the board voted not to recommend to the list including: carrot fiber, gellan gum, koji mold, milled flax seed, instant nonfat dried milk, roasted poblano peppers and crushed and dried red peppers.
For more information on the NOSB meeting and recommendations visit: www.ams.usda.gov/NOP.

“Go Organic! for Earth Day” Continues to Grow
Go Organic! for Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22nd, has continued to grow with more than 3,500 grocery stores across the nation and 40 leading organic manufacturers teaming up this year to help encourage consumers to “Go Organic!”

The Organic Trade Association, the Earth Day Network (EDN) and MusicMatters worked together to develop many outreach efforts to educate the public about the benefits of going organic, both for the health of our planet and ourselves. These efforts include in-store events, promotions and organic product sampling, as well as money-saving coupons available at participating stores. Coupon books can also be obtained by calling 1-866-I-GO-ORGA (NIC). The campaign website, www.OrganicEarthDay.org, features organic facts and figures, recipes, a kids section and educational curriculum program, e-postcards to send to friends and more. The site also has a store finder to locate participating retailers.

Go Organic! also partnered with Healthnotes Inc. to feature organic information in more than 2,000 interactive in-store kiosks and retailer web properties across the nation. Tens of thousands of K-12 schoolteachers worldwide who are part of EDN’s Educator’s Network joined the effort to spread the word as well.

The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) reported that the 2006 Go Organic! campaign raised consumer awareness of organic products by 3 percent nationally (that’s more than 10 million consumers). NMI also reports that 65 percent of consumers learn about organic products from grocery store promotions and displays.


Fine Tuning Flavors: NOSB to Form Task Force
One of the issues brought up in public comment was the confusion regarding notices posted earlier this year by the NOP regarding flavors. Although nonsynthetic flavors are approved nonagricultural ingredients for use in organic products, as per section 205.605 of the National List, many flavors could be considered to be agricultural including fruit essences, essential oils and extracts.

After hearing convincing public comment, the NOSB decided at the Spring Meeting to put together a task force to better address the issues that surround this hard-to-define ingredient.

For now, the final word from the NOP as of February 2007 is this: flavors may be used in organic products according to the National List, 205.605, and do not need to be sourced organically nor petitioned to be placed on 205.606. As long as flavors meet the definition of a natural flavor, according to the FDA in 21 CFR Part 101.22(a)(3), and they are from nonsynthetic sources and are not produced using synthetic solvents, carrier systems, any artificial preservatives, genetically modified organisms and irradiation, they may be used. For more information on this see the NOP’s Guidance Document on Flavors, available at www.ams.usda.gov/NOP.



Organic Exchange Releases Organic Labeling Guide
The “Organic Exchange Guide to Labeling Organic Textile Products” was recently developed to give some clarity and guidance to brands and retailers trying to make decisions on how to most accurately and effectively label their products containing organic fiber. The guide addresses a wide range of issues, including: differentiating between labels, organic marks, standards and certifying agencies, use of the term ‘organic’ in labeling and the value in it, ensuring the validity of organic claims, legal requirements by region, voluntary organic standards (why to use them and what they address), FAQs and web links. For more information contact Terri Small at tsmall@organicexchange.org.


Changes in Group Management Certification
Mark Bradley, NOP Associate Deputy Administrator, announced at recent certifier trainings that the current NOP interpretation of the rule 205.403(a), which requires onsite yearly inspections, is to include each individual site within a group management operation. This change would dramatically increase the cost of certification, especially for cooperatives of small farmers that grow commodities such as sugar, coffee, tea and cacao. 

Currently, group management operations have established internal control systems to ensure that all members of the group are operating according to their Organic Compliance Plan and the NOP standards. All individual members are inspected by the internal control system on an annual basis. The internal control system and a percentage of individual members are inspected by the certifying agent annually to verify that the entire operation, including all members of the group, are compliant. This group certification process is in line with the National Organic Standards Board’s (NOSB) 2002 recommendations on group management certifications, as well as grower group certification guidelines developed by the European Commission and IFOAM. If you are concerned by this recent clarification, please contact the Organic Trade Association (OTA), specifically, Tom Hutcheson, OTA’s Regulatory Policy Manager, at thutcheson@ota.com.


New Certification Program to Recognize Socially Responsible Business Practices
Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), a leading U.S. sustainability standards developer along with Numi Organic Tea, the International Labor Rights Fund and NSF International, a world-renowned standards organization, have joined together to create the Fair Labor Practices and Community Benefits certification, a new program recognizing socially responsible practices by businesses in the agricultural industry.

Requirements for companies to achieve this certification include high standards related to hiring and employment practices, workplace conditions, and access for workers and their families to transportation, health and education services. Requirements address such issues as hiring, wages, working hours and overtime, the right to organize and to collective bargain, vacation and sick leave, child labor, access to housing and sanitary facilities, occupational health and safety, and community engagement. For more information contact Andrew Winslow at awinslow@scscertified.com.


IFOAM International Conference on Marketing of Organic and Regional Values
August 26th through the 28th in Schwäbisch Hall, Germany, experts from all over the world will gather together to discuss marketing strategies for organic products as well as other topics including regulatory approaches. The conference is organized by Organic Services and Ecoland in cooperation with IFOAM and is supported by the Bäuerliche Erzeugergemeinschaft Schwäbisch Hall (BESH) and BioFach. The Conference will be held in English. The industry is invited to submit papers on a list of topics that can be found on IFOAM’s website, www.ifoam.org. Case studies and practical marketing experiences are strongly encouraged. Deadline for submissions is May 10th 2007.

Label Connects Consumers to Farmers
Dole organic banana labels now feature a farm code that corresponds to the specific farm where the product was sourced. When consumers enter the indicated code into the new Dole website (www.doleorganic.com), they gain access to the farm’s page, where they find information regarding the farm’s characteristics (country, location, certifications), have the opportunity to learn more about the grower, read stories about projects in the communities and look at pictures. Furthermore, the Dole organic website has a link to the most advanced satellite image technology available on the internet, “Google Earth,” enabling consumers to actually view the farm anywhere around the world.

Cardoza Named Chairman of the Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture
The U.S. House of Representative’s Agriculture Committee recently named Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.) as chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture. Jurisdiction of the subcommittee will include fruits and vegetables, honey and bees, marketing and promotion orders, plant pesticides, quarantine, adulteration of seeds, insect pests and organic agriculture.

“This subcommittee will recognize the growing importance of organic agriculture in the United States and around the globe, and will be vital as OTA works with others in the organic community to advance organic agriculture in the upcoming 2007 Farm Bill discussion,” said Caren Wilcox, OTA’s Executive Director.

The subcommittee also includes Reps. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.), Lincoln Davis (D-Tenn.), Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.), John Barrow (D-Ga.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y

Clarification on the June 9th Deadline Stream of Commerce
At the certifier training, held January 23, 2007 at EcoFarm in California, the National Organic Program (NOP) announced that organic items labeled as “USDA Organic” that use nonorganic minor ingredients not listed on 202.606 must change title, or be sold prior to the June 9 deadline. This came as a shock to most certifiers and processors.

To clarify this issue, QAI, an accredited certifier, contacted the NOP to ask for further information. The NOP provided clarification that organic product made with minor ingredients not listed on 606, do not have to change title before the deadline. However, products using these ingredients must still be produced, packaged and labeled prior to June 9, 2007 in order to enter the stream of commerce and be sold as “USDA Organic.”

OTA Launches New Website for Farms and Handlers Interested in Going Organic
To make sure farmers and handlers new to organic production have access to the resources they need to enter the organic market, the Organic Trade Association has created www.howtogoorganic.com. The site will be unveiled in May at the All Things Organic™ Conference and Trade Show, and advertising opportunities will be available. Contact Beth Fraser, bfraser@ota.com, 413-774-7511, ext. 27 for details.