USDA Extends Comment Period for Organic Product Exemption Under Commodity Promotion Law

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service has
extended until February 17, 2015, the comment period for a proposed rule
that would expand assessment exemptions for commodity promotion activities
“to cover all ‘organic’ and ‘100 percent organic’ products certified under
the National Organic Program regardless of whether the person requesting
the exemption also produces, handles, or imports conventional or nonorganic
products.” Under the current rule, the exemption applies only to those who
exclusively produce and market products certified as 100 percent organic.
Additional details about the original notice appear in Issue 549 of this Update.
See Federal Register, January 15, 2015.

Issue 551