Sludge Watch ==> USDA may relax some organic food standards

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

AND...why is USDA allowing cattle grazed on sewage effluent irrigated 
pasture to be considered 'organic'?  Why are effluent irrigated crops fed to 
dairy cows still open to certified organic milk?

This Salinas Valley interpretation of organic regs needs to be fixed.  
..........................................................


Nonorganic exceptions ruffle enthusiasts of organic food
11.jun.07
New York Times
Andrew Martin

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/business/11organic.html?_r=1&oref=login

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the final arbiter of all things organic, 
is, according to this story, poised to approve a list of nonorganic 
ingredients that can be used in food stamped with its green-and-white 
organic seal.
The list includes hops for beer, dill weed oil for flavoring pickles, and 
elderberry juice coloring for making foods bright red to blue purple. There 
is also chia, an herb from Central America that is used in some baked goods, 
and fructooligosaccharides, a bulking agent that adds fiber.
In all, the organic advisory board to the Agriculture Department recommended 
that 38 nonorganic ingredients be added to a list of approved ingredients. 
Rules on organic labeling dictate that 95 percent of a product must be 
organic to obtain the department’s label; the remaining 5 percent can be 
nonorganic if it comes from an approved list.
To get on the approved list, an organic alternative to the ingredient must 
not be commercially available.
But purists were cited as saying that this list of ingredients is the latest 
example of big business trying to water down organic standards in an effort 
to cash in on the increased demand for organic products and that the 
nonorganic ingredients will weaken the integrity of the organic label.
Merrill A. Clark, an organic farmer from Michigan and a former member of the 
organic advisory board, was quoted as saying in comments to the Agriculture 
Department that, "More than 90 percent of the food/agricultural items on the 
proposed list of materials in this rule are items that can easily be grown 
organically," and that allowing such nonorganic ingredients are “totally 
unhealthy for the organic industry down the road,” and are “opening the 
organic rules to ridicule and unflattering public exposure.”
Jill M. Cataldo of Huntley, Ill., told the Agriculture Department that her 
family ate only organic beef to avoid exposure to mad cow disease and other 
health risks. But she questioned the integrity of organic sausage that would 
be wrapped in nonorganic casings made from the intestines of animals that 
can be fed such things as bovine growth hormones.
Officials at the Department of Agriculture could not be reached for comment 
Sunday.




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USDA may relax standards for organic foods
09.jun.07
Los Angeles Times
Scott J. Wilson
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-organic9jun09,0,1336066.story?coll=la-home-center
With the "USDA organic" seal stamped on its label, Anheuser-Busch, according 
to this story, calls its Wild Hop Lager "the perfect organic experience."
The Wild Hop website was quoted as saying, "In today's world of artificial 
flavors, preservatives and factory farming, knowing what goes into what you 
eat and drink can just about drive you crazy. That's why we have decided to 
go back to basics and do things the way they were meant to be … naturally."
But, the story says that many beer drinkers may not know that Anheuser-Busch 
has the organic blessing from federal regulators even though Wild Hop Lager 
uses hops grown with chemical fertilizers and sprayed with pesticides.
A deadline of midnight Friday to come up with a new list of nonorganic 
ingredients allowed in USDA-certified organic products passed without action 
from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, leaving uncertain whether some 
foods currently labeled "USDA organic" would continue to be produced.
The agency is considering a list of 38 nonorganic ingredients that will be 
permitted in organic foods. Because of the broad uses of these ingredients — 
as colorings and flavorings, for example — almost any type of manufactured 
organic food could be affected, including cereal, sausage, bread and beer.
Organic food advocates have fought to block approval of some or all of the 
proposed ingredients, saying consumers would be misled.
Ronnie Cummins, executive director of the Organic Consumers Assn. of 
Finland, Minn., a nonprofit group that boasts 850,000 members, was quoted as 
saying, "This proposal is blatant catering to powerful industry players who 
want the benefits of labeling their products 'USDA organic' without doing 
the work to source organic materials."
USDA spokeswoman Joan Shaffer declined to comment on the plan.
Food manufacturers were cited as saying this week that they were hoping the 
agency would approve the rules by Friday to continue labeling their products 
as organic.
A federal judge had given the USDA until midnight Friday to name the 
nonorganic ingredients it would allow in organic foods, but the agency did 
not release its final list by the end of the day.
Cummins was quoted as saying, "They probably don't know what to do. On the 
other hand, it's hard to believe they're going to make people change their 
labels, although that's what they should do."
The story says that demand for organic food in the U.S. is booming as 
consumers seek products that are more healthful and friendlier to the 
environment. Sales have more than doubled in the last five years, reaching 
$16.9 billion last year, according to the Organic Trade Assn. in Greenfield, 
Mass., which represents small and large food producers.
But with big companies entering what was formerly a mom-and-pop industry, 
new questions have arisen about what exactly goes into organic food. For 
food to be called organic, it must be grown without chemical fertilizers and 
pesticides. Animals must be raised without antibiotics and growth hormones 
and given some access to the outdoors.
Many nonorganic ingredients, including hops, are already being used in 
organic products, thanks to a USDA interpretation of the Organic Foods 
Protection Act of 1990. In 2005, a federal judge disagreed with how the USDA 
was applying the law and gave the agency two years to revise its rules.
Organic food supporters had hoped that the USDA would allow only a small 
number of substances, but were dismayed last month when the agency released 
the proposed list of 38 ingredients.
Carl Chamberlain, a research assistant with the Pesticide Education Project 
in Raleigh, N.C., was quoted as saying, "Adding 38 new ingredients is not 
just a concession by the USDA, it is a major blow to the organic movement in 
the U.S. because it would erode consumer confidence in organic standards."
Under the agency's proposal, as much as 5% of a food product could be made 
with these ingredients and still get the "USDA organic" seal. Hops, though a 
major component of beer's flavor, are less than 5% of the final product 
because the beverage is mostly water.
Sales of organic beer, though still a small portion of total beer sales, 
have been growing even faster than overall organic food sales. They reached 
$19 million in 2005, a 40% increase over the previous year (2006 figures are 
not yet available).
Trying to get a share of the market for green products, Anheuser-Busch 
introduced two organic beers in September, and soon pitched them in fliers 
to wholesalers.
"Environmentally conscious consumers are looking for certified organic 
products, including beer, the fastest-growing organic beverage," the pitch 
said. "Capitalize on this growing market with Wild Hop Lager and Stone Mill 
Pale Ale."
But while the two beers use 100% organic barley malt, less than 10% of the 
hops they use is organic.