December 21, 2000

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has announced final national standards for the production, handling, and processing of organically grown agricultural products that he calls the "strongest and most comprehensive ... in the world." For farmers, the standards are designed to create clear guidelines on how to take advantage of the exploding demand for organic products. And for the organic industry, these standards should provide an important marketing tool to help boost exports since trading partners will now deal with only one national standard rather than multiple state and private standards, according to Glickman.

Essentially, the new organic standard offers a national definition for the term "organic." It details the methods, practices and substances that can be used in producing and handling organic crops and livestock, as well as processed products. It establishes clear organic labeling criteria, and specifically prohibits the use of genetic engineering methods, ionizing radiation, and sewage sludge for fertilization.

All agricultural products labeled organic must originate from farms or handling operations certified by a state or private agency accredited by USDA. Farms and handling operations that sell less than $5,000 worth per year of organic agricultural products are exempt from certification. Farmers and handlers have 18 months to comply with the national standards.

Glickman also announced that USDA will provide financial assistance to farmers in 15 states to help pay their costs for organic certification. The states selected are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Utah, Nevada, and Wyoming. Payments will be limited to 70 percent of an individual producer's certification costs, up to a maximum of $500.

The final standard includes several changes from the proposed rule issued in March:

--Enhancing market incentives for organic products by making product content requirements stricter before the term organic can be used on the main label, including changing the percentage of organic ingredients in products labeled "Made with Organic Ingredients" from at least 50% to at least 70%;

--Providing better information for consumers by allowing manufacturers to state the exact percentage of organic ingredients on the principal display panel;

--Providing greater flexibility for organic farmers by simplifying requirements for composting of manure and by providing new options for dairy operations converting a whole herd to organic production;

--Incorporating industry standard practices by allowing wine produced with sulfur dioxide to be labeled "made with organic grapes" and adopting 5% of the EPA pesticide tolerance as the pesticide residue level above which a product cannot be sold as organic.

Consumers will begin to see new organic labeling on products in their local grocery stores by the summer of 2001 with full implementation by mid-2002, Glickman said.

USDA estimates that the value of retail sales of organic foods in 1999 was approximately $6 billion. The number of organic farmers is increasing by about 12% per year and now stands at about 12,200 nationwide, most of them small-scale producers. According to a recent USDA study, certified organic crop land more than doubled from 1992 to 1997. Two organic livestock sectors, eggs and dairy, grew even faster.

The final national organic standards rule, which takes into consideration more than 300,000 public comments, will be published in the Federal Register today (Thursday, Dec. 21). The rule, along with detailed fact sheets and other background information, is available today on the web at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop.

One organic food company, Small Planet Foods, said it "finds cause for celebration" over the standards. They "launch organic food production into a new era," the company said. "The national regulations will change the face of the organic industry," states Gene Kahn, founder and CEO of Small Planet Foods. "Consumers will benefit as more food companies offer organic products, and the uniform national standard for organic certification will lead to greater confidence in organic foods by all consumers. We expect to see the organic industry blossom under the new USDA regulations."

Kahn was a charter member of the first National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) and instrumental in developing the federal standards.

The revised regulations signify a movement in the organic food industry to become more accessible to a wider audience. "Mandating that the current multitude of state and private organic certifiers use one national USDA standard will do three things," said Steven Harper, director of research and development for Small Planet Foods. "In addition to building consumer trust in organic products, it will expand the production of quality organic food, and it will increase export opportunities for organic farmers and processors." Harper currently serves on the NOSB.

Small Planet Foods is an all-organic subsidiary of General Mills International and is based in Sedro-Wooley, WA.

The announcement of the final brought mixed reactions from the National Food Processors Association. NFPA called it "a step forward for uniform food labeling standards" but also cautioned that "it must be made clear that the 'organic' label on certain foods does not mean that they are safer or more nutritious than conventional food products."

"NFPA strongly urges the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- in all its communications to consumers -- to make it clear that the organic label should not be read as implying that conventional products are somehow inferior in terms of safety or nutrition," said Dr. Rhona Applebaum, NFPA's executive vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs. "The term 'organic' is a marketing term, referring to the manner in which the food was produced, not an indicator of quality or safety. 'Organic' should be seen as another choice for consumers, joining the enormous variety of safe and nutritious conventional food products on the market."

Applebaum added that, "NFPA regrets that products treated with irradiation or produced through the use of agricultural biotechnology are excluded from bearing the term 'organic,' as many of those products offer real benefits to both producers and consumers. For example, consumers with compromised immune systems might seek products that have been irradiated to ensure that they are free of certain pathogens. Excluding the use of irradiation on otherwise organic products means that some consumers will be denied this option."

Chuck Marcy, president and CEO, Horizon Organic Dairy, considered the country's largest organic food company, called the announcement "a victory for the industry and its consumers, who have been working toward federal standards for more than a decade." The regulations contain "several key provisions that Horizon Organic believes are particularly important," he said.

The standards "emphasize the importance of animal welfare in an organic system ... organic livestock cannot be given hormones or antibiotics. In addition, livestock raised under organic practices must have access to pasture. Finally, the standards require that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as well as toxic and synthetic pesticides and fertilizers must be excluded from organic agriculture. With these important provisions, the USDA has ensured that consumers will get what they expect when they choose certified organic products for their families."