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Spring 2018 NOSB Meeting

National Organic Standards Board

Spring 2018 NOSB Meeting
Comment by April 4, 2018!

Priority Issues
For more detailed analysis, scroll down to the description and links. For quick copy and paste, use the text below to comment at Regulations.gov. Add a personal message about why this is important to you at the top, if possible.

Non-GMO Organic Seed Integrity (Seed Purity from GMOs)
The issue of protecting the genetic integrity of seed grown on organic land is related to two others that are not on the agenda –excluded methods terminology and strengthening and clarifying the requirements for the use of organic seed. Addressing these two other issues adequately would help to ensure that the presence of plants growing from genetically engineered (GE) seeds is greatly reduced on organic farms.

The issue of protecting the genetic integrity of seed grown on organic land is concerned with those instances when organic producers plant nonorganic seed, so any efforts to strengthen the requirements for organic seed would tend to eliminate the problem. Strengthening and clarifying the requirements for the use of organic seed should remain on the agenda to eliminate inconsistencies in the enforcement of NOP’s broad exemption that allows the use of conventionally produced seed in certified organic. A rule change to the seed practice standard is needed to require a demonstrable improvement over time until 100% organic seed use is achieved.

Excluded methods terminology should be maintained on the NOSB agenda to keep up with a fast-moving biotechnology industry. Organic regulations prohibit the use of genetic engineering, but the NOP needs to define terms in order to ensure that those regulations are enforceable.

Efforts to quantify the extent of GE contamination and provide transparency in GE content of non-organic seeds should not further burden organic growers.

Contaminated Inputs
It is important for the NOSB to maintain a focus on the problem of contaminated inputs, which threatens the quality of organic products and soil on organic farms. However, the NOSB last addressed the issue in a report in Spring 2015. The report offered an approach for addressing this complex issue through examining feedstocks and pathways. We support the approach in that report. In the intervening three years, the NOSB has not made progress, but another source of contamination has risen in importance –use of water contaminated by oil and gas production. If “organic” is to maintain its meaning, then we must prevent the unintended contamination that can occur when organic matter is recycled from off-farm sources or outside forces contaminate water supplies.

“Inert” Ingredients
“Inert” ingredients frequently compose as much as 99% of pesticide products.  So-called “inert” ingredients are not inert, and are not disclosed to users or others who may be exposed.  Due to NOSB scrutiny of active ingredients “inert” ingredients may be the most hazardous ingredients in pesticide products used in organic production.  We urge the NOSB to insist that NOP move forward quickly with implementation of the NOSB recommendations on inert ingredients.  Allowing the current lack of movement to persist raises serious compliance issues and threatens the integrity of the USDA organic label.

Addressing Fraud in Organic Production: The fraud problem extends to both imported and domestically grown organic food. It is a problem whenever someone portrays as organic a product that does not meet the rigorous organic standards required to use the USDA organic label. Fraud hurts all sectors of the organic community –especially organic producers who follow the letter and spirit of the law and the consumers who depend on the market to provide organic food that meets organic standards. Fraud is a problem when crops that are grown with prohibited inputs, when livestock do not get the required access to pasture, and when organic crops are produced in artificial media.
The topic of inspector qualifications and training, listed separately on the NOSB agenda, is an integral part of fraud prevention. Regulations must be clear, so that they can be enforced. USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) must have a will to enforce, whether the violator is large or small, foreign or domestic. The task facing the NOSB and NOP is to craft a multi-faceted strategy to prevent organic fraud.

Packaging Substances, including Bisphenol A (BPA): BPA should be eliminated from organic food packaging. At the same time, since some known alternatives to BPA may also present similar problems, the NOSB should approach the issue of food packaging in a comprehensive way. The NOSB’s Handling Subcommittee should ensure that packaging is a priority issue and request a scientific technical review of BPA and its alternatives, so that it can adopt the strongest most comprehensive packaging standard for organic food.

Eliminating Incentives to Convert Native Ecosystems to Organic Cropland: Unfortunately, the legal requirement to avoid the use of prohibited substances for three years before land can be certified organic produces an unintended incentive to convert important native habitat to organic farms. To protect native lands, the NOSB should pass the Certification, Accreditation, and Compliance subcommittee improved proposal. The details on implementing the proposal as part of farmers’ organic system plans should be worked out in cooperation with the Wild Farm Alliance and experienced certifiers.

The Spring 2018 meeting dates have been announced and public comments are due by April 4, 2018. Your comments and participation are critical to the integrity of the organic label.

When: Wednesday, April 25, 2018 - 8:30am to Friday, April 27, 2018 - 6:00pm

Where: Tucson University Park Hotel, 880 East Second Street, Tucson, Arizona 85719

Watch video tutorial

The proposals of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), as a part of its ongoing review of practices and materials, are published for public comment. The public comment period will end April 4, 2018. On this page, Beyond Pesticides will be providing the public with a listing and analysis of the issues under consideration of the Board when it meets in Tuscon, AZ on April 25 - 27, 2018. You can view USDA's announcement of the NOSB's meeting and proposals here. Please see Beyond Pesticides' analysis below (and more coming soon).

Issues Before the NOSB for Spring 2018

Materials in the list below are either the subject of petitions or the subject of sunset review. Petitioned materials must have evidence summarized in the proposals that they meet the OFPA requirements of essentiality, no adverse effects on humans and the environment, and compatibility with organic practices. Sunset items are already on the National List, and being considered for delisting. They are subject to the same criteria, but are being considered under NOP's new rules.

The NOSB is accepting public comments at the Spring 2018 meeting and will vote on materials subject to "2020 sunset review" at the Fall 2018 meeting.

To truly make an impact in the future of organic, Beyond Pesticides encourages you to:

**On certain browsers, it may be necessary to download a PDF version of Beyond Pesticides' comments in order to view the navigation pane**

Cross-Cutting Issues

Compliance, Accreditation, & Certification Subcommittee (CACS)

Crops Subcommittee

Handling Subcommittee

Livestock Subcommittee

Materials Subcommittee

Policy Development Subcommittee

 

 

See Draft Meeting Agenda

 

Take Action at Regulations.gov!
(Comments Due April 4, 2018!)

 

See All
Comments So Far

 

See Beyond Pesticides' Commenting Guidelines

 

See All Meeting Materials and Issues

 

The Organic Foods Production Act

Sanitizers

  • Background: A comprehensive review of sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleansers used in organic production is needed. It should start with the questions:

    1. For what purposes are sanitizers needed?
    2. Are specific (e.g., chlorine-based) sanitizers required by law?
    • OFPA requires that all cleansers, sanitizers, and disinfectants used in organic production be itemized on the National List by specific use or application.
    • NOP guidance and the practice of certifiers and inspectors has been inconsistent and often violates OFPA.
    • The inadequacy of the National List with regard to cleansers has led to an acceptance of the practice of using any available cleanser (sometimes antimicrobial) with intervening steps considered by the producer/processor, certifier, and inspector to be “sufficient” to prevent contamination of organic product.
    • Bringing practice into compliance with OFPA requires that the National List be evaluated for sufficiency and that cleansers be added to the National List.
    • The inconsistencies among OFPA and regulations, guidance documents, and practice support the need for a comprehensive review of sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleansers that will lead to a clarified National List that meets OFPA criteria and the needs of organic producers.

Marine Materials

  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Marine biodiversity is important, and the roles played by marine algae (seaweed) are important to marine biodiversity and ecology. Human threats to marine environments include overfishing, global warming, biological introductions, and pollution. The NOSB should continue its efforts to clarify the identities of species of marine algae used in organic production as well as to develop guidance for the application of the wildcrafting standard to marine algae.  Application of Latin binomials to seaweeds needs to be clarified, and any restrictions need to be justified.  The NOSB must investigate mechanisms for protecting marine ecology from the impacts of over-harvesting marine algae for use in organic products and production.  It must also look at natural materials in use in crops and livestock as well as those on the National List.  Lastly, the NOSB must protect rockweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) to the extent possible and specifically list it as a prohibited natural.  Seaweeds (marine algae) and products made from them should be allowed as ingredients in organic food, feed to organic livestock, and crop inputs only “when harvested from a designated area that has had no prohibited substance applied to it for a period of 3 years immediately preceding harvest and when harvested in a manner that ensures that such harvesting or gathering will not be destructive to the environment and will sustain the growth and production of the population of the species.” Marine animals used as fertilizers should be similarly protected.

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  • Addressing Fraud in Organic

    •  Beyond Pesticides' comments
    •  Submit your own comment here
    • Background:  The fraud problem goes beyond imports. It is a problem whenever someone portrays as organic a product that does not meet the standards. Fraud hurts all sectors of the organic community –especially organic producers who follow the letter and spirit of the law and the consumers who depend on the market to provide organic food that meets organic standards. Fraud is a problem when crops that are grown with prohibited inputs, when livestock do not get the required access to pasture, and when organic crops are produced in artificial media.
      The topic of inspector qualifications and training, listed separately on the NOSB agenda, is an integral part of fraud prevention. Regulations must be clear, so that they can be enforced. NOP must have a will to enforce, whether the violator is large or small, foreign or domestic. The task facing the NOSB and NOP is to craft a multi-faceted strategy to prevent organic fraud.
  • Eliminating the incentives to convert native ecosystems to organic cropland
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Unfortunately, the legal requirement to avoid the use of prohibited substances for three years before land can be certified organic produces an unintended incentive to convert important native habitat to organic farms. The NOSB should pass this proposal, which has gone through several rounds of public discussion, followed by improvements, and will protect native lands. The details of how certifiers build it into organic system plans should be worked out in guidance in cooperation with the Wild Farm Alliance and experienced certifiers.  
  • Inspector qualifications
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Qualified inspectors are important to ensuring organic integrity. We agree with the CACS that inspector qualifications include knowledge and skills that can be acquired through both training and experience. We agree that ongoing evaluation is needed. However, we disagree with the CACS recommendation that NOP should develop guidelines. NOP has encouraged or permitted the certification of practices that are incompatible with organic principles –including hydroponic production, dairy facilities with inadequate (if any) access to pasture, and poultry operations without outdoor access. USDA has withdrawn the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule. With such a record, the department should not be given the responsibility for developing the guidance for inspectors who will be the judge of whether operations are meeting organic standards. Instead, the NOSB should develop guidelines for ensuring that inspectors have adequate training and experience. These guidelines should include guidance for determining when production is in the soil, in the ground, when dairy has adequate pasture, and when poultry has adequate outdoor access.

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Petitions

  • Polyoxin D Zinc salt
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: The NOSB should reject the petition for polyoxin D zinc salt (PDZ) as a fungicide. PDZ does not meet any of the OFPA criteria—for environmental and health impacts, compatibility with organic systems, or essentiality. PDZ causes nontarget effects on beneficial organisms in the organic system, moderate toxicity to aquatic organisms, and chromosomal aberrations test animals.
  • Natamycin
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: The NOSB should not allow the use of natamycin in organic production. Its classification as nonsynthetic cannot be supported with the available information, and when judged against the criteria for allowing synthetic substances, it fails to meet the criteria for no hazards to human health and the environment, essentiality, and compatibility with organic practices. Natamycin has been shown to provoke antimicrobial resistance in human pathogens and affects soil fungi.
  • Sulfur (as a molluscicide)
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: The technical documentation for this petition does not support listing in crops. It does not address crucial issues associated with crop use. In view of this documentation and additional documentation we have found, the NOSB should reject the listing of sulfur as a molluscicide.

Sunset

  • Elemental sulfur
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: The NOSB must make a case for the need for sulfur in organic production, protect workers who use it, and ensure that its use does not result in ecological imbalance. The Crops Subcommittee should investigate the particular uses of elemental sulfur in plant disease and insect control to determine when they are necessary, and the committee should propose an annotation for specific uses. These measures may require annotation of the listings in order to ensure that OFPA criteria are met. We suggest this worker protection annotation, “Steps to meet worker protection standards must be documented in the Organic System Plan.”
  • Lime sulfur
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: The Crops Subcommittee must investigate the particular uses of lime sulfur in plant disease control to determine whether they are necessary, and whether lime sulfur can be used for the purpose without disrupting natural controls. If it can, the listing should be annotated, “For use only when beneficial arthropods are not present.”
  • Sucrose octanoate esters (SOEs)

  • Hydrated lime
  • Liquid fish products
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Liquid fish products should be removed from the National List because they remove valuable nutrients from marine or aquatic ecosystems and are incompatible with organic production. It is concerning that so many growers seem to rely on this synthetic material for routine fertility.
  • Sulfurous Acid
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: The NOSB should not relist sulfurous acid to correct alkalinity in soil that has accumulated carbonates and bicarbonates through irrigation water in more arid regions. There are potential adverse impacts that have not been evaluated by the NOSB. The NOSB should ask whether the “need” for sulfurous acid reflects unsustainable farming practices. In addition, it would be relevant to discuss the use of sulfurous acid in conjunction with other water issues, such as the use of “produced” water, or water resulting from fracking.
  • Ethylene
    •  Beyond Pesticides' comments
    •  Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Ethylene gas should be allowed to sunset because it fails to meet the OFPA criteria of freedom from health and environmental harm, essentiality, and compatibility with organic production. There is no category in OFPA allowing an exemption for synthetic growth regulators, and the use of such synthetic materials is contrary to consumer expectations. It appears the ethylene use in pineapples is more a question of economics and farm size rather than agronomic need.
  • Microcrystalline cheesewax
    •  Beyond Pesticides' comments
    •  Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Until soy wax or other non-petroleum based wax is available to allow organic producers of mushrooms on logs to choose a more environmentally-friendly alternative, microcrystalline cheesewax should remain on the National List.
  • Potassium chloride
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Potassium chloride is prohibited unless derived from a mined source and applied in a manner that minimizes chloride accumulation in the soil. Potassium chloride is an extremely soluble form of potassium. The main environmental and compatibility concern is related to excess use, which can result in chloride accumulation in the soil and inhibit nitrification. Therefore, potassium should remain with the annotation that soil testing be required to verify the absence of chloride build-up.

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Other Issues

  • "Inert" ingredients
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Click here to see the full report referenced in Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background:  “Inert” ingredients frequently compose as much as 99% of pesticide products.  So-called “inert” ingredients are not inert, and are not disclosed to users or others who may be exposed.  Due to NOSB scrutiny of active ingredients “inert” ingredients may be the most hazardous ingredients in pesticide products used in organic production.  We urge the NOSB to insist that NOP move forward quickly with implementation of the NOSB recommendations on inert ingredients.  Allowing the current lack of movement to persist raises serious compliance issues and threatens the integrity of the USDA organic label.
  • Prohibition of  NPEs in "inerts"
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: The NOSB should not delay in evaluating nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs).  NP and NPEs are highly toxic to fish, aquatic invertebrates, and aquatic plants.  They are also estrogenic –with significant quantities of direct discharges of NPEs finding their way into surface water from agricultural fields.  Organic producers should be leading the way in environmental protection and regeneration.  The use of toxic and endocrine-disrupting materials like NPEs is clearly inconsistent with The Principles of Organic Production and Handling.  EPA has identified alternatives to NPEs, and it is time for the NOSB and National Organic Program to banish these harmful substances.

  • Container and greenhouse production
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Hydroponic, aeroponic, or aquaponic operations should not be considered eligible for organic certification. Organic production is soil-based and is defined by principles concerning the growers relationship to the soil. The “Law of Return,” the rule “Feed the soil, not the plant,” and the promotion of biodiversity, provide the ecological basis for organic production. The Law of Return says that we must return to the soil what we take from the soil. The dictum to “Feed the soil, not the plant” reminds us that the soil is a living superorganism that supports plant life as part of an ecological community. Finally, biological diversity is important to the health of natural ecosystems and agroecosystems. Biodiversity promotes balance, which protects farms from outbreaks of damaging insects and disease. It supports the health of the soil through the progression of the seasons and stresses associated with weather and farming. It supports our health by offering a diversity of foods. The NOSB must keep the issue of container and greenhouse production on its agenda until a consensus on regulations consistent with organic principles is reached.

  • Strengthen and clarify the requirements for use of organic seed (NOP 5029)
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Strengthening and clarifying the requirements for the use of organic seed should remain on the agenda to eliminate inconsistencies in the enforcement of NOP’s broad exemption that allows the use of conventionally produced seed in certified organic

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Petitions

  • Silver dihydrogen citrate
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Background: Silver dihydrogen citrate is nanosilver. The NOSB voted in 2010 to exclude engineered nanomaterials from organic production and handling. The petition should be denied because of the toxicity of the material to a wide range of organisms and its incompatibility with organic production.
  • Sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS)
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: SDBS is used as one of the active ingredients in a formulated product used as an antimicrobial processing aid in produce wash waters. The intended function of the product itself is to reduce the number of microorganisms in fruit and vegetable process water and on the surface of the fruit or vegetable. SDBS rates a green circle (verified to be of low concern based on experimental and modeled data) on EPA’s Safer Chemical Ingredient List, and as such, is a material that the NOSB should consider in its quest to eliminate chlorine. However, that consideration should take place in the context of a comprehensive review of sanitizers, so SDBS should not be listed at this time. The technical review (TR) of SDBS is a good step in the direction of the comprehensive review of sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleaners that we propose.

Sunset

  • Calcium carbonate
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Calcium carbonate is a natural substance that should be allowed for its use as a calcium source in soy based cheese alternative, to provide a similar calcium level for nutritional purposes. Alternatives are not more natural and may change the flavor of the soy based cheese alternative. It is also used as gelling agent in soy yogurt and a pH buffer.
  • Flavors
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: At its Fall 2015 meeting, the NOSB voted to change the annotation to: “Flavors, non-synthetic flavors may be used when organic flavors are not commercially available. All flavors must be derived from organic or nonsynthetic sources only, and must not be produced using synthetic solvents and carrier systems or any artificial preservative.” The changed annotation has been included in proposed rulemaking by NOP. Flavors should be relisted with the new annotation.
  • Gellan Gum
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: The petitioner of gellan gum claimed as CBI sections of the petition relating to amounts of the material used in products and the entire section on “sources and detailed description of manufacturing procedures.” Since then, the NOSB adopted a policy that Confidential Business Information (CBI) claims will no longer be accepted in petitions. This policy places new materials petitions at a disadvantage in having to disclose information not disclosed by previous petitioners. In the interest of fairness, therefore, materials should not be relisted during the sunset process unless the CBI claimed in the original petition is disclosed. This data should be disclosed, and it should be disclosed in a manner that allows public comment on it to be considered “timely.” The sunset date should be replaced by an expiration date. The expiration date would require that gellan gum be delisted on the sunset date unless it is repetitioned and relisted. This will allow new information –and in particular, that which had claimed to be CBI— to be considered in a meaningful fashion.
  • Oxygen
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: In the fall of 2015, only one commenter expressed an interest in keeping oxygen on the National List. Despite the lack of harm posed by oxygen, it is a material otherwise prohibited, requiring an exemption for use in organic production. As such, its essentiality must be documented. Unless it is essential, it should not be relisted.
  • Potassium chloride
  • Alginates
    • Beyond Pesticides' comment
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Alginates are synthetic derivatives of brown seaweeds. The listing of alginates should specify the seaweeds used and ensure that their harvest does not disturb the marine ecology. One way to do this would be to require that the seaweeds be organically produced –either through cultivation or wildharvest. Alginates are extracted through a method that causes chemical changes. Brown algae concentrate heavy metals and radioactivity, so those contaminants will be present either in the finished product, the waste stream, or both. The use of alginates is to create textures, and is therefore incompatible with organic regulations.

      Alginates should be removed from the National List unless they have allowed uses for which they are essential and can be shown not disturb the marine ecology in their production.
  • Calcium hydroxide
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Calcium hydroxide is used as a pH buffer and as the alkaline substance in aluminum-free baking powder. It is also used to fortify foods with calcium, clarify sugar cane or beet juice, for making hominy and masa, as a firming agent, in the production of organic corn starch, and to remove impurities from solutions. Some uses may not be compatible with organic practices. The listing for calcium hydroxide should clarify which uses are permitted.
  • Glycerides: mono- and di-
  • Ethylene
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Ethylene should not be relisted for postharvest ripening of tropical fruit and degreening of citrus because it is incompatible with organic agriculture. It is used as a synthetic growth regulator (ripening agent). It is incompatible with the principles of sustainable agriculture. The reason for permitting use is related solely to economics since alternatives do exist and would appear to be available to the segment of the agricultural community that benefits from this chemical. Moreover, it is a synthetic chemical and a dangerous chemical for its users.
  • Phosphoric acid
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Phosphoric acid poses environmental hazards in manufacture and disposal, and health risks during use. Because its use is slightly different from the other materials on the National List, there may not be a more compatible substance available. The NOSB should seek safer alternatives.
  • Xanthan gum
    • Beyond Pesticides' comment
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Xanthan gum should be removed from the National List unless it has allowed uses for which it is essential. Xanthan is the product of fermentation that uses a plant pathogenic organism. The fermentation medium is a complex chemical mixture, and the recovery of xanthan gum from the fermentation broth is a difficult and expensive process that depends on a number of synthetic solvents.

Other Issues

  •  Packaging Substances, including Bisphenol A (BPA)
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) should be eliminated from organic food packaging. At the same time, since known alternatives to BPA may also present similar problems, the NOSB should approach the issue of food packaging in a comprehensive way. The HS should maintain packaging substances as a priority issue and request a technical review on BPA alternatives as well as BPA itself.
  • Nutrient Vitamins and Minerals -annotation change
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: After producing a discussion document with different options for public comment in Spring 2016, the Handling Subcommittee (HS) has apparently let drop the issue of changing the annotation for nutrient vitamins and minerals. As stated by the HS, “It has been acknowledged that it [the annotation] needs to change since the Federal Rule first came out.” This issue needs to be a priority.

  • Reclassification of Magnesium chloride

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  Petitions

  • Glycolic Acid
    • Beyond Pesticides' comment
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: The petition for glycolic acid teat dips should be denied because it poses environmental and health hazards, is not essential, and is incompatible with organic production. Glycolic acid is incompatible with organic production for several reasons –it is a synthetic designed to be used preventively, it contains “inert” ingredients not permitted in organic production, and there are no tolerances or exemptions from tolerance that would permit it to be used as petitioned. While the NOSB should seek alternatives to iodine- and chlorine-based teat dips, there is no indication that glycolic acid would substitute for them.

Sunset

  • Aspirin
  • Biologics, Vaccines
  • Electrolytes
  • Glycerine
  • Phosphoric acid
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Phosphoric acid poses environmental hazards in manufacture and disposal, and health risks during use. However, there may not be a more compatible substance currently available. The NOSB should look for alternatives, and consider those rated by EPA’s Safer Choice Program.
  • Lime, hydrated
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Potassium chloride is prohibited unless derived from a mined source and applied in a manner that minimizes chloride accumulation in the soil. Potassium chloride is an extremely soluble form of potassium. The main environmental and compatibility concern is related to excess use, which can result in chloride accumulation in the soil and inhibit nitrification. Therefore, potassium should remain with the annotation that soil testing be required to verify the absence of chloride build-up.
  • Mineral oil
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Potassium chloride is prohibited unless derived from a mined source and applied in a manner that minimizes chloride accumulation in the soil. Potassium chloride is an extremely soluble form of potassium. The main environmental and compatibility concern is related to excess use, which can result in chloride accumulation in the soil and inhibit nitrification. Therefore, potassium should remain with the annotation that soil testing be required to verify the absence of chloride build-up.
  • Sucrose octanoate esters (SOEs)
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: PSOEs were originally petitioned as a control for varroa mites on honey bees –and that remains the only supported livestock use. The LS should seek input from beekeepers. The generic annotation “in accordance with approved labeling,” which always applies, should be replaced with one that describes the use –such as “for control of varroa mites in honeybees.”
      In view of the restrictive use of SOEs, they should remain on the National List.”

Other Issues

  • Defining emergency treatment for parasiticides
    • Beyond Pesticides Comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: When the NOSB drastically reduced the period between emergency treatment with parasiticides and sale of milk from treated animals, it increased the importance of defining “emergency” for such treatments. The NOSB should approve the subcommittee’s proposed definition and the proposed addition to §205.238 (b) that defines the context in terms of the farm’s Organic System Plan.

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  • Non-GMO Organic Seed Integrity (Seed Purity from GMOs)
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background:The issue of protecting the genetic integrity of seed grown on organic land is related to two others that are not on the agenda –excluded methods terminology and strengthening and clarifying the requirements for the use of organic seed. Addressing these two other issues adequately would help to ensure that the presence of plants growing from genetically engineered (GE) seeds is greatly reduced on organic farms. The issue of protecting the genetic integrity of seed grown on organic land is concerned with those instances when organic producers plant nonorganic seed, so any efforts to strengthen the requirements for organic seed would tend to eliminate the problem. Efforts to quantify the extent of GE contamination and provide transparency in GE content of non-organic seeds should not further burden organic growers.
  • Excluded Methods Terminology
  • Contamination of Farm Imputs
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: It is important for the NOSB to maintain a focus on the problem of contaminated inputs, which threatens the quality of organic products and soil on organic farms. However, the NOSB last addressed the issue in a report in Spring 2015. The report offered an approach for addressing this complex issue through examining feedstocks and pathways. We support the approach in that report. In the intervening three years, the NOSB has not made progress, but another source of contamination has risen in importance –use of water contaminated by oil and gas production.
  • Sanitizers
    • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here.
    • BackgroundA comprehensive review of sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleansers used in organic production is needed. It should start with the questions:
      1. For what purposes are sanitizers needed?
      2. Are specific (e.g., chlorine-based) sanitizers required by law?
      • OFPA requires that all cleansers, sanitizers, and disinfectants used in organic production be itemized on the National List by specific use or application.
      • NOP guidance and the practice of certifiers and inspectors has been inconsistent and often violates OFPA.
      • The inadequacy of the National List with regard to cleansers has led to an acceptance of the practice of using any available cleanser (sometimes antimicrobial) with intervening steps considered by the producer/processor, certifier, and inspector to be “sufficient” to prevent contamination of organic product.
      • Bringing practice into compliance with OFPA requires that the National List be evaluated for sufficiency and that cleansers be added to the National List.
      • The inconsistencies among OFPA and regulations, guidance documents, and practice support the need for a comprehensive review of sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleansers that will lead to a clarified National List that meets OFPA criteria and the needs of organic producers.
    • See also Sanitizers under Cross Cutting Issues

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  The Policy Development Subcommitte has not meet since the Fall 2017 NOSB meeting.

 

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