The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) held its public meeting April 29 – 2, 2014, in San Antonio, TX, to discuss a number of action items related to the Organic industry. This year, the spring meeting included many agenda items held over from the fall meeting, which was cancelled due to the partial government shutdown [...]
The organic products industry grew to be a $35-billion business in 2013, reported the Organic Trade Association (OTA) in May 2014. The reported 11.5% increase from 2012 is the fastest growth rate in the last five years. The OTA expects this growth will continue over the next two years. “Consumers are making the correlation between [...]
What is the cost of preventing global warming? Not that expensive, really, if one considers switching to widely available and inexpensive organic farming practices, says Rodale Institute in a landmark White Paper published in May 2014. In fact, says Rodale after conducting more than 30 years of ongoing field research, organic farming practices and improved [...]
On May 19, 2014, USDA National Organic Program issued final guidance to clarify labeling of foods in the "Made with Organic" category, as follows: "Multi-ingredient agricultural products in the "Made with organic..." category must contain at least 70% certified organic ingredients (not including salt or water). These products may contain up to 30% of allowed non-organic ingredients. [...]
Representing four food industry trade groups, the Grocery Manufacturers Association on June 12 filed a lawsuit against the state of Vermont, challenging the constitutionality of the state’s new GMO labeling law. Vermont’s Legislature passed the first no-strings attached, mandatory GMO labeling law, set to take effect in July 2016. The new labeling law “exceeds the [...]
OTA Food Safety Task Force urges FDA to base proposed produce safety and preventive controls (HACCP) rules on science and data, and not to conflict with existing USDA National Organic Program regulations. While undeniably important as a major step in improving the safety of the United States’ food supply, FDA, as part of the Food [...]
On November 6, just one day after Washington State’s I-522 GMO labeling bill was narrowly defeated, USDA moved to deregulate two new GMO soybean varieties and a GMO apple genetically engineered to resist browning. Additionally, reports indicate that FDA may soon approve GMO salmon - the first genetically engineered animal for human consumption. In approving [...]
The number of certified organic operations increased 240% since the National Organic Program (NOP) began tracking data in 2002. Today, USDA counts 17,750 certified organic farms and processing facilities in the US, up from about 7,400 in 2002. USDA also estimates that there are now close to 25,000 certified organic operators in more than 100 countries worldwide. [...]
May 2013 Agrisystems International founder Tom Harding finalized the sale of the international organic consultancy to his longtime colleague Alesia Bock of ASI Consulting LLC in DeForest, WI. The transition to serve clients has been seamless, and Alesia brings 24 years of experience in the food industry, including regulatory, certification and quality roles covering USDA, [...]
In an effort to reduce paperwork and other burdensome aspects of organic certification, the National Organic Program (NOP) in April introduced Sound and Sensible, a new program designed to make it easier on producers while maintaining high standards, ensuring compliance, and protecting organic integrity. The Sound and Sensible initiative involves identifying and removing barriers to certification, [...]