The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service has announced the availability of five draft guidance documents for National Organic Program (NOP) certifying agents and certified operations. The documents cover the following topics: (i) Compost and Vermicompost in Organic Crop Production (NOP 5021); (ii) Wild Crop Harvesting (NOP 5022); (iii) Outdoor Access for Organic Poultry (NOP 5024); (iv) Commingling and Contamination Prevention in Organic Production and Handling (NOP 5025); and (v) The Use of Chlorine Materials in Organic Production and Handling (NOP 5026). Once finalized, the guidance will become available through “The Program Handbook: Guidance and Instructions for Accredited Certifying Agents (ACAs) and Certified Agents,” which provides “those who own, manage, or certify organic operations with guidance and instructions that can assist them with complying with the [NOP] regulations.” To this end, NOP will accept written comments on the drafts until December 13, 2010. See The Federal Register, October 13,…
Category Archives Issue 369
The American Organic Hop Grower Association (AOHGA) has reportedly persuaded a National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) subcommittee to reverse a recommendation that aimed to keep hops on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, which governs the use of synthetic and non-synthetic materials in organic production and handling. In advance of an October 25-28, 2010, public meeting in Madison, Wisconsin, NOSB had requested feedback on a number of National List exemptions, including one that currently permits the use of non-organic hops in organic beer. Although the NOSB Handling Committee initially backed a continuation of this policy due to the limited availability of organic hops, AOHGA faulted NOSB for holding hops “to a higher standing than virtually any other agricultural product” by allegedly insisting that all 150 varietals become available in organic form before removal from the list. AOHGA thus urged organic beer brewers and other supporters to petition the…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued draft guidelines for video monitoring at federally inspected meat and poultry plants. Although the guidelines do not require in-plant video monitoring, such practices can be used to help strengthen food safety and humane animal-handling practices, and to monitor product inventory and building security, according to an October 14, 2010, FSIS news release. “Records from video or other electronic monitoring or recording equipment may also be used to meet FSIS’ record-keeping requirements,” the agency stated. The guidelines stem from a 2008 USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommendation that called for FSIS to “determine whether video monitoring would be beneficial in slaughterhouse establishments,” FSIS Administrator Al Almanza was quoted as saying. “In agreeing to that OIG recommendation, FSIS committed to issuing compliance guidelines for using video records and a directive clarifying FSIS’ authority to access establishment video…
According to an agricultural and food law blog, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published the U.S. Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil, effective October 25, 2010. They supersede standards that were in effect since 1948. According to the agency, the standards “are designed to facilitate orderly marketing by providing a convenient basis for buying and selling, for establishing quality control programs, and for determining loan values. The standards also serve as a basis for the inspection and grading of commodities by the Federal inspection service.” The USDA website contains only a cached version of this document; it is unclear whether the material is undergoing some further change. See U.S. Agricultural & Food Law and Policy Blog, October 20, 2010.
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