Organic Standards Intro

There has been a great deal of discussion about the alleged co-opting of the organic standards body by big business in the United States. Big business now owns many previously small organic producers. Is this necessarily a bad thing? What is the impact of this. To help isolate the issues and provide accurate information rather than hear say, I am laying out the current standards below.





This final rule establishes the National Organic Program (NOP or program) under
the direction of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), an arm of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This national program will facilitate domestic and international marketing of fresh and processed food that is organically produced and assure consumers that such products meet consistent, uniform standards. This program establishes national standards for the production and handling of organically produced products, including a National List of substances approved for and prohibited from use in organic production and handling. This final rule establishes a national-level accreditation program to be administered by
AMS for State officials and private persons who want to be accredited as certifying agents. Under the program, certifying agents will certify production and handling operations in compliance with the requirements of this regulation and initiate compliance actions to enforce program requirements. The final rule includes requirements for labeling products as organic and containing organic ingredients.