Article: Consumers Condemn USDA Retreat From Enforcing Organic Labeling on Non-Food Products

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Just an FYI article

 

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Chris (list mom)

 

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

 

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Consumers Condemn USDA Retreat From Enforcing Organic Labeling on

Non-Food Products New NOP Scope Ignores Fraud and Hurts Honest

Businesses

 

http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/nop-scope.cfm

 

WASHINGTON, DC -Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National

Organic Program (NOP) published a new scope document that unravels

efforts to establish meaningful organic standards for personal care

products, dietary supplements, fertilizers, soil amendments, manure and

related materials, fish and seafood, and pet foods. The new NOP Scope

will make it illegal for makers of the aforementioned products to

display the USDA Organic Seal in the future or make any other claims

suggesting these products are made under the USDA NOP standards.

 

See

http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/NOP/Guidance%20Statements/ScopeGuidance04130

4.pdf.

 

" The Organic Consumers Association condemns the USDA failure to regulate

organic labeling, in particular for personal care products, " said Ronnie

Cummins, Executive Director of the Organic Consumers Association. " Under

the new scope document it is our understanding that manufacturers of

personal care products labeled 'organic' or 'made with organic

ingredients' will be completely unregulated from now on - opening the

door to massive labeling fraud - while punishing companies that have

made significant investments in certified organic ingredients in recent

years. "

 

The new NOP Scope states that by October 21, 2005, organic non-food

products that comply with the NOP organic regulations must remove any

labeling that indicates the product is produced in compliance with the

NOP regulations. In other words, companies who make organic non-food

products certified to national organic standards will not be allowed to

communicate that. " In effect consumers won't know if the organic claim

on a non-food product is real or not, " said Cummins. " Rather than work

to broaden the use of certified organic materials in a wide variety of

products, the NOP is limiting USDA regulation to food. The result will

be reduced demand for certified organic ingredients, ultimately hurting

small farmers that produce organic crops that turn out far less

pollution per acre than conventional agriculture. "

 

The OCA is planning to mobilize its 500,000 person network to protest

the USDA's failure to protect organic integrity by not expanding it's

jurisdiction to cover non-food products that are labeled 'organic'. " We

are not going to allow this to happen without a fight, " adds Cummins.

 

The OCA is a grassroots nonprofit organization concerned with food

safety, organic farming, sustainable agriculture, fair trade and genetic

engineering. ###

 

ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION . 6101 CLIFF ESTATE ROAD . LITTLE MARAIS,

MN 55614 USA

Telephone: 218-226-4164 . Fax: 218-353-7652. email:

info; http://www.organicconsumers.org