Sulfites and the U.S Organic Marketplace
In the ’80s, the decade leading up to the Organic Foods Production Act
(OFPA), there was no shortage of controversy surrounding sulfites. During that
time, many salad bars routinely sprayed their produce with sulfur dioxide,
which made some people sick and even triggered a few fatal asthmatic reactions. Because of this, in 1987 the FDA issued regulations requiring foods and
beverages containing sulfites in excess of 10 parts per million (ppm) to include
the statement “contains sulfites” on their labels. Although the FDA estimates
that only 1 percent of the population is sensitive to sulfites, there were many
who opposed the use of the additive, and when OFPA was passed in 1990 sulfites were prohibited as an ingredient in organic products.
Years later in 1998, when the NOP regulations were being drafted, the
NOSB heard public comment from many winemakers, who pleaded for the
ability to use at least a minimal amount of sulfites. As a compromise, the NOSB
recommended that sulfites be added to the Allowed Synthetics list, with the an-
notation, “for use only in wine labeled ‘made with organic grapes,’ provided
that total sulfite levels do not exceed 100 ppm.”
However, when the NOP went to publish the proposed regulations in March
2000, it sidelined the NOSB’s recommendation on sulfites because OFPA did
not allow sulfites in any amount. When winemakers heard this, they went to
D.C. to petition California Senator Barbara Boxer to amend the law. “Sulfites
are essential to making a quality wine. If sulfites were not allowed in organic at
all, the market for organic wine grapes would be almost non-existent,” says one
of the petitioners, Paul Dolan, who not only has his own line of “made with or-
ganic grapes” wines, but also was the creator of Fetzer’s popular Bonterra
“made with organic grapes” wines.
Hearing the winemakers’ plea, in October 2000, Congress passed the Boxer-McConnell Amendment to OFPA, allowing sulfites in winemaking. Two months
later, the NOSB recommendation from
1998 was adopted into the NOP rule,
allowing wine to contain added sulfites if
Dolan points out that the importance
of the decision in regard to the growth of
the organic market is apparent when you
consider that today there are only 15 no-sulfite-added (NSA) organic wine
brands in the U.S., while there are over 60 sulfites-added brands that are made
with organic grapes, and hundreds more sulfites-added “made from organic
grapes” wines are produced internationally and imported into the U.S.
Marcelo Retamal, winemaker for Nuevo
Mundo—a carbon neutral winery in
Chile which makes wines with 100 percent organic grapes—with Paolo Bonetti,
president of Organic Vintners.
Organic Wine Labeling: A Decade Later
Winemakers are currently petitioning to change the NOP Final Rule, stating
that the original intent of the Boxer-McConnell Amendment did not restrict
wines with added sulfites to the “made with” category and that the current labeling rule for organic wine impedes the growth of the industry and causes
consumer confusion. So far, more than 100 winemakers, importers, distributors, retailers and other supporters have signed on to back the effort.
One reason consumers are confused is because the rules for organic wines
are “sharply different” from the “USDA Organic” and “made with organic” la-
beling laws applied to all other organic
products, says Paolo Bonetti, president
of Organic Vintners, organic wine im-
porter and one of the companies lead-
ing the effort to petition the NOSB.
