Nonorganic ingredients get tentative OK

[Guest guest]

This is like saying that pasteurized almonds are raw!

There are evidently more coming too!

 

Nonorganic ingredients get tentative OK

 

http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-organic23jun23,1,7141431.stor\

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The USDA permits 38 items to be used in foods labeled as organic.

By Scott J. Wilson, Times Staff Writer

June 23, 2007

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave interim approval Friday to a

controversial proposal to allow 38 nonorganic ingredients to be used in foods

carrying

the " USDA Organic " seal. But the agency also allowed an extra 60 days for

public comment.

 

Manufacturers of organic foods had pushed for the change, arguing that the 38

items are minor ingredients in their products and are difficult to find in

organic form. But consumers opposed to the use of pesticides, chemical

fertilizers, antibiotics and growth hormones in food production bombarded the

USDA with

more than 1,000 complaints last month.

 

" If the label says organic, everything in that food should be organic, " wrote

Kimberly Wilson of Austin, Texas, in one typical comment. " If they put

something in the food that isn't organic, they shouldn't be able to call it

organic.

No exception. "

 

The list approved Friday includes 19 food colorings, two starches, hops,

sausage casings, fish oil, chipotle chili pepper, gelatin, celery powder, dill

weed oil, frozen lemongrass, Wakame seaweed, Turkish bay leaves and whey protein

concentrate.

 

Manufacturers will be allowed to use conventionally grown versions of these

ingredients in foods carrying the USDA seal, provided that they can't find

organic equivalents and that nonorganics comprise no more than 5% of the

product.

 

A wide range of organic food could be affected, including cereal, sausage,

bread, beer, pasta, candy and soup mixes.

 

Supporters of the USDA rule change say that by allowing small amounts of

nonorganic ingredients to be used, more products that are mostly organic can be

developed. This encourages the development of organic farming, they say.

 

The rule change is " good news for consumers, " said Barbara Haumann,

spokeswoman for the Organic Trade Assn., which represents food makers. " They

have just

been confused by people who put out messages that are bogus. "

 

Haumann's group has been at odds with the Organic Consumers Assn., which has

led the opposition to the USDA proposal. Ronnie Cummins, executive director of

the consumers group, said Friday that the USDA was caving in to pressure from

large food companies.

 

USDA officials " don't seem to care what the public wants, " Cummins said.

" They're just more interested in what's convenient for the big companies. "

 

Organic food sales have more than doubled in the last five years, reaching

$16.9 billion in the U.S. last year. The booming market has drawn in big food

makers such as General Mills Inc., Kellogg Co. and Kraft Foods Inc. to what was

formerly an industry of mostly mom-and-pop farms.

 

The USDA first issued its proposal May 15, followed by a seven-day public

comment period that many people on both sides of the issue decried as far too

short. As a result, the USDA announced Friday that it would allow 60 more days

for its National Organic Program to collect public comments before issuing its

final rule.

 

Under USDA regulations that define " organic, " crops must be grown without

chemical fertilizers, sewage sludge, bioengineering or pesticides, while animals

must be raised without antibiotics and growth hormones and given access to the

outdoors.

 

The USDA has allowed small amounts of conventionally grown ingredients in

products carrying its seal since its certification program started in 2002. But

two years ago, a judge said the agency was misinterpreting the law and ordered

it to tighten its approval system.

 

Two weeks ago, when the court-ordered deadline passed without USDA action,

manufacturers found themselves suddenly barred from using nearly all nonorganic

ingredients in products labeled as organic.

 

As of June 9, all nonorganic ingredients must be approved by the USDA and

placed on its " National List " before they can be used in products carrying the

agency's seal.

 

The 38 ingredients approved for the National List join five that were

previously on the list: corn starch, water-extracted gums, kelp, unbleached

lecithin

and pectin.