When is Organic Not Organic?

The organic food market is growing rapidly, due in part to consumers' concerns over the healthfulness and safety of the foods they eat. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program is considering new exceptions to its organic standards that might not sit well with die-hard organic shoppers.

The clock is ticking, too. Because, unlike the ordinary 30- to 60-day comment period, the U.S.D.A. is allowing public responses for only seven days, which means now through Tuesday, May 22. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has provided an online form letter that citizens can edit and email to voice their opinions on the changes under consideration.

The proposed changes in organic standards would add 38 ingredients to the National Organic Program's National List of synthetic and non-organic substances that can be used in food products. That means those new ingredients, organic or not, could end up in foods that still show up on supermarket shelves sporting the label "U.S.D.A. Organic."

The new ingredients under consideration for the list include non-organic animal intestines for use as casings for organic sausages, non-organic hops in beers labeled as "organic," non-organic fish oil as an ingredient in numerous processed organic foods, non-organic gelatin, non-organic coating agents for fruits and vegetables, non-organic food colorings and flavors, and other non-organic additives. The U.S.D.A. says the exceptions are needed to produce certain organic food products when organic versions aren't commercially available.

The OCA says it objects most strongly to the inclusion of the non-organic sausage casings, hops and fish oil, as well as to non-organic beet juice, lemongrass, rice starch and whey protein.

"(A)t least three of the proposed ingredients, backed by beer giant Anheuser-Busch and pork and food processors, represent a serious threat to organic standards, and have raised the concerns of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), as well as a number of smaller organic companies and organic certifiers," the OCA stated. "Specifically, the OCA disagrees with the 'Budweiser exemption,' allowing conventionally grown hops, produced with pesticides and chemical fertilizers, to be used in beers labeled as 'USDA Organic.' Also, OCA strenuously objects to the USDA's proposal to allow the use of conventionally raised factory-farmed animals' intestines (we'll spare you the gory details of what these animals have been fed) as casing for sausages labeled as 'organic.' "

You can find more details about the proposed changes on the Federal Register or at the OCA's Website.

Federal Register, "National Organic Program (NOP)--Proposed Amendments to the
National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (Processing)." URL: (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/07-2388.htm)

Organic Consumers Association, "Alert: Another Sneak Attack on Organic Standards: U.S.D.A. to Allow More Conventional Ingredients in Organics." URL: (http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/oca/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=11401)