June 29, 1999

The Codex Alimentarius Commission, meeting in Rome this week, is expected to approve trade guidelines for producing, processing, labeling and marketing organically producer foods. Maximum residue limits for bovine somatotropin (BST) also is on the Codex agenda.

"International guidelines on organically produced food products are important for consumer protection and information, because they facilitate trade," said Food and Agriculture Organization food standards official Selma Doyran. "They also are useful to governments wishing to develop regulations in this area, including developing countries and countries in Eastern Europe."

The guidelines define organic food production and prevent claims that could mislead consumers about the quality of the product or the way it was produced. The proposed Codex definition reads, "Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity." Organic agriculture, according to this definition, is based on minimizing the use of "external" inputs, avoiding the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

Also on the agenda, is creating a task for to accelerate adopting a draft code of conduct on good animal feeding. It is expected that participants will emphasize the need for such a code to help defuse the recent international crisis over dioxin in animal products.

In January, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said certain meat and poultry products could carry a label indicating the products are certified organic. The label may be used if processors seek prior label approval from USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service and the claim meets certain basic criteria.

To use the claim in labeling, processors must show that products have been certified as organic by an authority or entity that certifies products as "organically" produced. That entity must have standards that define "organically produced" and a system for ensuring that products it certifies meets those standards.