NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD (NOSB)


The Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, part of the 1990 Farm Bill, authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to appoint a 15-member National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The board’s main mission is to assist the Secretary in developing standards for substances to be used in organic production. The NOSB also advises the Secretary on other aspects of implementing the national organic program. Visit their website at:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nosb/index.htm

News:
The Spring 2012 NOSB Board Meeting has been set for May 21-24, 2012, Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town, Albuquerque, NM.
The Fall 2012 NOSB Board Meeting will be October 16-19, 2012 at the Providence Biltmore, Providence, RI. 

The NOP Insider, current announcements, posted Sept 19, 2011.



NOSB Update – December 16, 2011
Barry Flamm

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) held its fall meeting November 29-December 2 in Savannah, Georgia. The purpose of this and all the meetings is to receive public comment on committee proposals and other matters of interest to the organic community. On the final day, the full Board votes on recommendations and conducts other Board business including voting on officers for the next term.
 
Prior to this meeting during the written comment period, we received 1013 comments. At Savannah, we heard from over 100 members of the public specifically on the committee recommendations and discussion papers, plus on other issues such as concern over the impacts of GE and the need for follow up action on NOSB previous recommendations on conserving biodiversity.

The written and oral comments provide very valuable information in the formulation of Board decisions. In Savannah, persons from all over the US representing various interests and concerns attended. I was especially impressed by the passionate talks by several local farmers from SAAFON (SE African American Farmers Organic Network) describing their commitment to organics, successes and problems.

As you know, the Organic Food Production Act (OFPA) mandates that in order to be sold or labeled as an organically produced product it must have been produced and handled without the use of synthetic chemicals, EXCEPT as otherwise provided. Exceptions are dealt with in the law by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a National List of approved and prohibited substances that shall be included in the standards for organic production and handling. The National List is based on that proposed by NOSB and this task is a major undertaking of the Board. Interested parties may petition the Board to have a substance added or removed from the list. Petitions are submitted to the NOP, which after consulting with NOSB, determines the petition’s sufficiency. If the petition meets standards, it is sent to the NOSB, where it is assigned to the appropriate committee. Subsequently, technical reviews are requested to provide the committee with the needed information to develop a recommendation.

Ten petitions were considered at the Savannah meeting. You can find the details for each action on the NOSB/ NOP websites. The petition that was of particular interest, especially to one of MOA's own, was the petition to remove the limiting annotation for use of sulfur dioxide in wines. The current listing allows sulfur dioxide for use in wine labeled “made with organic grapes.” The petitioner wanted this limitation removed so that SO2 could be used in wine certified as organic. There was much public comment and debate revolving around essentiality of sulfites in wine production and its compatibility with organic principles. Andy Spoonseller, owner of Ten Spoon Vineyard and Winery, traveled from Missoula to present strong testimony against allowing sulfur dioxide (sulfites) in organic wine. The full Board went against the Handling Committee recommendation and REJECTED the petition.

OFPA requires that in order to remain valid, all substances on the National list must be reviewed by the Board within five years of being listed. This is called the Sunset Provision and involves much work by the Board. This time only nine substances were up for Sunset review. The synthetic version of Tartaric acid was voted to be removed from the list as no longer necessary, while the other eight substances were voted to continue listing. Pending are recommendations to add further restrictive annotations to the use of peracetic acid.

Few NOSB topics have received more public comments and debate than that for animal welfare. This very important and complex subject finally required compromises by Board members in order to finally adopt recommendations to NOP on strengthening animal welfare requirements. The Board passed recommendations for new regulations on physical alterations, living conditions for mammal and birds, animal handling and transit to slaughter. Stocking rates for chickens were also recommended. Other animal welfare proposals were withdrawn for further work and consideration. Please see the details of these complex recommendations on the NOSB web site.

The Board also passed recommendations:

• for the NOP to actively regulate Material Review Organizations in order to achieve consistent and uniform material review decisions.

• that NOP develop guidance on qualification criteria for organic inspectors.

• that NOP develop guidance on unannounced inspections.

In addition, the Board passed recommendations from the Policy Development Committee to increase Committees’ transparency by posting committee minutes and other material and to clarify transition procedures for officers, committee chairs and new members.

Savannah was the last Board meeting for Steve DeMuri, Tina Ellor, Katrina Heinze, and Tracy Miedema. New members’ five-year terms begins 1/24/12 and include Harold Austin (Handler), Carmela Beck  (Producer), Tracy Favre ( Environmentalist), Jean Richarson (Consumer) and Zea Sonnabend (Scientist).

The final business of the Board was to discuss committee work plans and to conduct election of officers. I was elected Board Chair, Mac Stone as Vice Chair and Wendy Fulwider as Secretary.

The Spring Board meeting will be May 21-24 in Old Town Albuquerque, NM. The NOSB fall meeting will be October 16-19, 2012 at the Providence Biltmore, Providence, RI. 

Finally, I wish to congratulate MOA on another outstanding annual conference. A terrific job by the Conference planning committee chaired by Lou Ann Crowley and by the entire MOA Board. For me, no gathering is better than one with MOA folks!

Barry Flamm


Barry R. Flamm
295 Montana Landing
Polson, MT 59860
406-883-2858
email: barryexplorer@yahoo.com

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