QAI Applauds Rule, Says New Requirements Threaten Manufacturers.

Business Editors

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2000

Quality Assurance International (QAI), one of the largest international organic certifiers, applauded the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) second draft of the proposed rule for organic agriculture today. Calling the document a "well written, thoughtful rule that preserves organic integrity, and empowers certification agents," Joe Smillie, QAI's senior vice president said, "QAI looks forward to working with the USDA to achieve the best organic program in the world."

However, Smillie said elements of the rule present significant challenges to manufacturers and certifying agencies. Specifically, he said the rule prohibits the use of synthetic processing aids or incidental additives that are not on the National Organic Standards Board's (NOSB) National List. "For ten years the industry has operated under the premise that inerts and processing aids would be allowed if they fulfilled regulatory criteria." Smillie added, "We can live with a strict rule if we have a good petition review process. The process for adding ingredients to the National List has thus far been totally inadequate. As a result, the National List does not reflect many of the materials currently used by manufacturers." In order for the new rule to be feasible, Smillie says the NOSB must be empowered by the National Organic Program to clarify and expedite the review process.

Currently, if a product is labeled "made with organic ingredients," at least fifty percent of its ingredients must be certified organic. The proposed rule would also require that the non-organic ingredients be produced without "excluded methods," such as genetically modified organisms, irradiation or sewage sludge fertilization. Smillie said this provision poses a serious challenge to organic certification agencies, which have no mechanism for documenting the methods used to produce a non-organic crop. "One of the benefits of certified organic agriculture is that producers are required to provide an audit trail for every step of the process. Conventional producers have no such requirements. There is no way for an organic certifier to verify what a conventional crop was produced without."

Current industry standards allow for five percent of ingredients in certified organic products to be non-organic, only if they are not available organically. The proposed rule seems to allow the same five percent to be non-organic, even if the ingredients were available organically. This would defy industry standards and consumer expectations, according to Smillie. He also expressed surprise that Apiculture (honey production) standards were removed from the USDA's proposed rule. "This was a provision that the industry was comfortable with. It was included in the American Organic Standards, and there is no apparent reason why the provision was excluded from the USDA's proposed rule."

With offices in the US, Canada, Mexico and Japan, QAI verifies the authenticity of organic products for over 700 certified entities and thousands of additional participating companies, including producers, co-packers, manufacturers and distributors. QAI's management team serves on the Organic Trade Association Board and committees, and government advisory boards in order to protect the integrity and the quality of the organic food supply.