from the NOP seal. The big pitfall of
pushing all personal care into a food
standard is that the inclusion of the
necessary synthesis chemistry for use
in cosmetics, in my opinion, hurts the
food standard. The organic food community never envisioned the certification of non-food chemicals, such as
soaps and esters (two categories of synthesized materials currently being certified to the NOP). I believe that
consumers are smart enough to distinguish between the USDA seal and
other “cosmetic” organic seals.
There is wonderful potential to
push personal care manufacturing toward significant use of organic practices if they are allowed to count the
organic content they use. The very act
of “counting” how many percentage
points of “organic” they can claim is a
great stimulus to marketers and to the
market. Communication to the con-
sumer about the use of the necessary synthetic materials (surfactants, emulsifiers
and preservatives) would be far clearer under a different standard than one de-
signed for food. I started with organic food and I believe that the NOP standard,
seal and message needs to be maintained
and protected. I don’t want to see the certi-
fication of non-food synthetic materials
standardized in the NOP regulation.
My biggest concern is that the industry
will go to regulation too soon. “Organic”
has been understood by the consumer to
mean a lack of “synthetic” materials. Cosmetics are based on synthesis chemistry;
soap, glycerin, esters and other ingredients
are manufactured or “synthesized,” as none
of them exist in commercial form in nature.
There simply aren’t any glycerin trees or
mines. Also, while NOP certifiers and the
USDA are good at dealing with food and
crops, they simply do not know what they
are looking at in a hydrogenation plant or
in an esterification process certification. They are not trained to assess and make
informed decisions about synthesis chemistry.
We have had neither the time nor the opportunity to create the supply chain,
“I believe that
consumers are smart
enough to distinguish
between the USDA
seal and other
‘cosmetic’ organic
seals.”
—Gay Timmons
Established in 1990, Summit Hill® Flavors has moved to the forefront of the all natural flavor industry as a premier manufacturer of organic specialty savory flavors. Manufacturer of Liquid and Dry Flavors: ; Organic Chicken Flavors (USDA Inspected) ; Organic Beef Flavor (USDA Inspected)
; Organic Vegetable
Flavors ; Organic Vegetarian
(Meat-type) Flavors ; Organic Specialty Flavors ; Organic Butter Flavors
Applications:
Soups, sauces, gravies,
dressings, meat and
poultry, marinades,
seasoning blends, and
processed food entrees.
Certified Organic
by USDA
Certified Organic
by QAI
253 Lackland Drive West, Middlesex, New Jersey 08846 USA ; Phone: (732) 805-0335 ; (800) 352-8675 ; Fax: (732) 805-1994
E-Mail:
info@summithillflavors.com ; Web Site:
www.summithillflavors.com
