Details
NOP/NOSB Update
By Harriet Behar
At the first meeting of 2008 in
Baltimore, Maryland, the National
Organic Standards Board opened
up the floor once again to discuss a
few hot topics and update the
organic community on some
important issues. Some of the
highlights from the meeting included:
Spring Restructuring. Barbara
Robinson of the Agricultural Marketing
Service gave the National Organic Program report,
expressing gratitude for the 100 percent increase in the NOP budget, bringing the Fiscal Year 2008 to 2. 6 million in program funding. With this new
funding, the NOP was able to expand to three branches: standards review
and development managed by Richard Matthews, accreditation and training
managed by Mark Bradley, and compliance and enforcement which does
not yet have a manager. There is a call for applications for this position and
they hope to add around 15 more NOP staff members soon. The NOP also
has a new website, which follows the same format as the USDA homepage
with many items put on the web to create the transparency desired by both
the department and the public. This is still a work in progress and the NOP
welcomes comments on their website.
Sorting Out the Issues. During numerous hours of public comment,
the main issues included the need to have access to pasture and origin of
livestock regulation published, the proposed aquaculture recommendation, materials to be voted upon for the National List and the definitions
of agricultural and synthetic. One of the main points of discussion was
concerning the use of outside Technical Advisory Panels, with the NOP
staff stating that the NOSB could perform their own review of all materials, without outside technical advice. For the past year, TAP reviews were
not done by an outside entity for items requested for 205.606 (
agricultural items not commercially available as organic), but in this meeting for
the first time, this had been expanded to items that are petitioned for all
sections of the National List. The nonuse of external TAP reviews was tied
to lack of NOP budget funds, but this budget shortfall should be less of a
problem with increased funding. It is unclear if the NOSB will be accepting the added burden of doing their own TAP reviews, or if they will ask
the NOP for outside TAP reviews. It is also unclear if the OFPA (Organic
Food Production Act) specifically requires outside TAP reviews, or if the
NOSB could do their own reviews as well as voting on the information
provided by their fellow NOSB members.
The NOSB recommendation for “multi-site” or “grower-group” certification was also discussed at length. The vast majority of the public commented that they did not feel that growers and (continued on page
11)
Preliminary List of Canadian Accreditors
and Certifiers Now Available
Processors looking to do business in the
Canadian market can view a preliminary list of
accreditors on the Organic
Trade Association’s (OTA)
website, www.ota.com.
Additional certifying bodies are currently under
review and will be added
to this list as they are
approved by their accreditati on
bodies. A number of international
certifiers are still under review.
Additional accreditation bodies may apply for
recognition by the Canada Organic Office of the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency. An updated list
will be circulated as the information is made available.
In order to be compliant with Canada’s Organic
Products Regulations after December 14, 2008, all
operators must be certified to the Canadian organic
standards and meet other requirements under the
regulations. All certifiers must be accredited by one
of the approved accreditation bodies.
Buyorganic! to Promote Organic
Products in September
September is Organic
Harvest Month, and in celeb ra -
tion, the Organic Trade
Association will once again
work with Taste for Life on
buyorganic! Taste for Life is
the leading in-store magazine on nutrition and natura l
health with the highest national circu lation (
ABC-audited) in the industry. For seven years, OTA and
Taste for Life have collaborated on this promotion
that reaches a million people through distribution in
the natural products stores where they shop. The
publication is a part of Taste for Life magazine, and
is available as a stand-alone magazine with a six-month shelf life. This year there will also be special
opportunities for organic fiber products companies.
Contact Taste for Life 603-924-7271 x181 for more
information.
