EasternPriest
July 21st, 2001, 03:39 PM
Organic Food Standards Released
Philip Brasher
WASHINGTON - Foods that are labeled organic will have to meet new national standards announced Wednesday that replace a hodgepodge of state rules and bar the use of biotechnology and irradiation in the products.
Consumers "who want to buy organic can do so with the confidence of knowing exactly what is it they're buying," Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said in announcing the rules Wednesday. They will be "the strictest, most comprehensive organic standards in the world," he said.
Foods grown and processed according to the federal standards, which have been a decade in development, will bear a seal "USDA Organic." Consumers should start seeing the label in stores next summer.
"We've got to get the rules out there so people know what they are eating," said John Moody, a retired postal worker who was buying organic juice, cereal and fruit at a supermarket where Glickman announced the new standards.
Amy Forgues, a Vermont farmer, said the rules were "strict but ... also farm friendly."
Farmers and handlers will have 18 months to comply with the standards, which will be administered by state and private agencies accredited by USDA.
The rules ban the use of most synthetic pesticides for crops, ban antibiotics from organic meat and require dairy cattle to have access to pasture.
Foods must contain at least 25 percent organically produced ingredients to be labeled as organic. Products containing at least 70 percent organic content can be labeled "made with organic ingredients."
Sales of organic products have grown at least 20 percent every year over the past decade and reached an estimated $7.8 billion this year, according to the Organic Trade Association.
The business is still a relatively small part of U.S. agriculture, however. About 0.2 percent of U.S. cropland was certified organic in 1997, compared with 1.5 percent in Europe, where farmers are offered government aid to convert to organic agriculture.
Some 12,000 U.S. farms claim to use organic methods, but fewer than 7,000 have been approved by various state or private certifying agencies. Many states have no regulations for organic farming, and others have production standards but no certification process.
The Agriculture Department proposed a set of national organic standards in 1997, but withdrew them after farmers and others in the organic industry strongly objected to allowing foods to be genetically engineered or treated with irradiation. Sewage sludge also would have been permitted as fertilizer under the 1997 proposal.
USDA was required to develop the rules under a 1990 law.
The food industry is concerned that national standards could lead consumers to think organic products are safer or healthier than conventional foods and wanted USDA to require a disclaimer on labels.
The department declined to add the disclaimer, but altered the design of the organic seal so that it doesn't look like the USDA shield that goes on meat and other government-inspected products. Although the national standards were needed, many consumers will mistakenly think the organic seal "means the food is better," said Lester Crawford, director of Georgetown University's Center for Food and Nutrition Policy. "This is going to take a lot of explanation and a lot of information, and it's going to cause a great deal of confusion."
The Associated Press
Date Published: 12/21/00
Date Reviewed: 12/21/00
Philip Brasher
WASHINGTON - Foods that are labeled organic will have to meet new national standards announced Wednesday that replace a hodgepodge of state rules and bar the use of biotechnology and irradiation in the products.
Consumers "who want to buy organic can do so with the confidence of knowing exactly what is it they're buying," Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said in announcing the rules Wednesday. They will be "the strictest, most comprehensive organic standards in the world," he said.
Foods grown and processed according to the federal standards, which have been a decade in development, will bear a seal "USDA Organic." Consumers should start seeing the label in stores next summer.
"We've got to get the rules out there so people know what they are eating," said John Moody, a retired postal worker who was buying organic juice, cereal and fruit at a supermarket where Glickman announced the new standards.
Amy Forgues, a Vermont farmer, said the rules were "strict but ... also farm friendly."
Farmers and handlers will have 18 months to comply with the standards, which will be administered by state and private agencies accredited by USDA.
The rules ban the use of most synthetic pesticides for crops, ban antibiotics from organic meat and require dairy cattle to have access to pasture.
Foods must contain at least 25 percent organically produced ingredients to be labeled as organic. Products containing at least 70 percent organic content can be labeled "made with organic ingredients."
Sales of organic products have grown at least 20 percent every year over the past decade and reached an estimated $7.8 billion this year, according to the Organic Trade Association.
The business is still a relatively small part of U.S. agriculture, however. About 0.2 percent of U.S. cropland was certified organic in 1997, compared with 1.5 percent in Europe, where farmers are offered government aid to convert to organic agriculture.
Some 12,000 U.S. farms claim to use organic methods, but fewer than 7,000 have been approved by various state or private certifying agencies. Many states have no regulations for organic farming, and others have production standards but no certification process.
The Agriculture Department proposed a set of national organic standards in 1997, but withdrew them after farmers and others in the organic industry strongly objected to allowing foods to be genetically engineered or treated with irradiation. Sewage sludge also would have been permitted as fertilizer under the 1997 proposal.
USDA was required to develop the rules under a 1990 law.
The food industry is concerned that national standards could lead consumers to think organic products are safer or healthier than conventional foods and wanted USDA to require a disclaimer on labels.
The department declined to add the disclaimer, but altered the design of the organic seal so that it doesn't look like the USDA shield that goes on meat and other government-inspected products. Although the national standards were needed, many consumers will mistakenly think the organic seal "means the food is better," said Lester Crawford, director of Georgetown University's Center for Food and Nutrition Policy. "This is going to take a lot of explanation and a lot of information, and it's going to cause a great deal of confusion."
The Associated Press
Date Published: 12/21/00
Date Reviewed: 12/21/00