The deadlines to submit public comments and register for oral comments to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) at their spring meeting are approaching! It is critical that members of the organic community submit public comments on the substances up for re-listing or removal from the National List of Allowed & Prohibited Substances (National List) and the other NOSB agenda items.
The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) released their meeting materials ahead of their upcoming meeting on April 29 – May 1, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia.
CCOF Certification Services was honored by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP) with two awards at the Accredited Certifiers Association training in San Antonio, Texas this week.
The National Organic Program (NOP) released a final rule amending the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List). Effective November 22, 2019, the NOP will add two substances to the National List and reclassify magnesium chloride. The rule is based off recommendations from the National Organic Standards Board’s spring 2018 meeting.
Now is the time to support the implementation of the long-overdue Origin of Livestock proposed rule. The rule would ensure clear and enforceable requirements for the sourcing of organic dairy herds by requiring new dairy animals to be managed organically from at least the last third of gestation. The organic community has advocated for this rule for many years. Inconsistent interpretation of the current rule has put some farmers at a disadvantage in an already struggling industry. On October 1, 2019, the USDA reopened the rule’s public comment period.
The National Organic Program released a proposed rule to amend the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. The proposed rule is based off public input and recommendations from the National Organic Standards Board from 2018.
Stakeholders may submit comment on the proposed amendment by December 17, 2019. Comments can be submitted via Regulations.gov using Docket Number AMS_FRDOC_0001-1913.
The proposed rule would:
Last week CCOF submitted eight written comments to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) ahead of their fall 2019 meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The meeting will occur Wednesday, October 23, through Friday, October 25.
On April 30, 2019, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service published an amendment to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List). This updated rule added elemental sulfur to the National List for use in organic livestock production and reclassifies potassium acid tartrate from a non-agricultural substance to an agricultural substance, which requires the use of the organic form when the ingredient isn’t commercially available. The rule is effective May 30, 2019. Operations with potassium acid tartrate on their material list will be notified separately.
Jenny Tucker, the deputy administrator of the USDA National Organic Program, released a policy memo on June 3, 2019 regarding land use history requirements for container based production systems. This memo clarified that all container systems “including hydroponic and other pot-based systems with or without soil must meet land requirements of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and the USDA organic regulations.” The regulations require that land must not have prohibited materials applied for three years prior to the harvest of an organic crop.
Last week the National Organic Program (NOP) launched the Organic Integrity Learning Center, an online platform that will provide free organic education geared towards certifiers, inspectors, reviewers, and compliance specialists. CCOF-produced videos were featured in a lesson titled “Sound and Sensible Organic Certification.” These videos were produced with a grant from USDA’s Sound and Sensible initiative to ease the process of transition and certification for producers. CCOF is proud to contribute content that highlights CCOF members and their practices in the new Learning Center.