Managing
NOSB Update: Navigating the NOP through the 2012
Sunset Review, Nanotechnology, Animal Welfare
and More
By Daniel Giacomini
As the organic industry grows there is a continuous flow of new challenges, as well as new insights. It’s the National Organic Standards Board’s (NOSB) responsibility to listen to the wide spectrum of voices in
the organic community and help navigate the
National Organic Program (NOP) through
any challenges in a way that is true to the
founding principles of the movement. The
first meeting of 2010 focused on preparing
for upcoming waves such as the 2012 sunset
review as well as the controversial issue of
nanotechnology. Additionally, it addressed
some longstanding questions regarding classification of materials and ensuring animal
welfare.
2012 Sunset Review of Materials
While 2012 still seems far away, it was the
hot topic of conversation at the last NOSB
meeting. That’s because 2012 is when the
next “sunset review” is set to take place.
What Is a Sunset Review? When the Or-
ganic Food Production Act (OFPA) was
passed in 1990, it required the development
of a National List (NL) of Allowed and Pro-
hibited Substances. The NL provides a rigor-
ously reviewed, detailed list of synthetic
materials that have been deemed safe and
necessary for organic production and process-
ing, as well as a list of nonorganic agricultural
ingredients that are not yet commercially
available in organic form. Furthermore,
OFPA requires that the exemptions and pro-
hibitions on the NL be reviewed by the NOSB
every five years. If they are not reviewed by
the NOSB and renewed by the Secretary of
Agriculture within five years of their listing or
relisting on the NL, then the authorized use
or prohibition of these substances and prod-
ucts will expire—or sunset, thus the name
“sunset review.” Many of the materials on the
NL are key to product formulations, therefore
the sunset review is of great importance to
many processors and something that requires
proactive thinking and preparation.
