Herbal Supplements Industry Salutes OCA/Dr. Bronner Victory on Organic Seal on Non-Food Items

Breaking News on Supplements & Nutrition ­ North America
<http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/news-ng.asp?n=62105-ahpa-dr-bronne
r-usda-organic-supplements>

NutraIngredients-usa.com - Montpellier,France

Organic supplements: victory for the industry

8/25/2005- Dietary supplements made following the National Organics
Program¹s requirements for organic foods may now be certified as organic and
bear the USDA seal, according to a memorandum sent out by the USDA this week
to its accredited certifying agents.

The decision to include non-food products in the NOP comes a week after
AHPA president Michael McGuffin addressed the National Organic Standards
Board for the second time this year, saying that ³there is no principled
argument to exclude dietary supplements from the NOP scope².

The memo from Barbara C Robinson, deputy administrator for the Agricultural
Marketing Service¹s transport and management programs, said: ³There are
agricultural products, including personal care products, that, by virtue of
their organic agricultural product content, may meet the NOP standards and
be labeled as O100 percent organic¹, Oorganic¹, or Omade with organic¹
pursuant to NOP regulations.²

The memorandum does not specifically mention dietary supplements, but
Robinson told NutraIngredients-USA.com that it is not directed at specific
products, but rather at agricultural products that meet the current NOP
standards.

"If a dietary supplement is comprised of agricultural ingredients, and is
produced according to the NOP standards, and contains no ingredients that
are not on the national list of approved synthetics, and if that product is
certified by an accredited USDA certifying agent, it may be labeled
according to its organic content as appropriate," she said.

Although AHPA has battled long and hard to clear up the NOP¹s contradictory
stance on organics over the past five years, McGuffin said that the
association cannot take full credit for USDA¹s apparent turnaround.

It is likely that the lawsuit brought in June by a personal care company,
Dr Bronner¹s Magic Soaps and the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), in
response to plans to drop organic cosmetics and personal care products from
the program, was a major factor in the decision.

The OCA and the Californian company¹s complaint centered on the fact that
the USDA took the decision without going through the proper rule-making and
notification procedures that allow for public comment.

The USDA¹s memo was sent out on Tuesday ­ the eve of the deadline for the
NOP to respond to the complaint.

It admitted that ³[NOP] certification may only be suspended or revoked
after notice and opportunity for hearing².

The new policy on cosmetics and personal care was due to come into effect
on October 21 2005, unless injunctive relief was granted.

³This is a major victory for organic consumers who rely on NOP certification
to ensure that their personal care and other non-food consumable products
like pet foods contain real organic ingredients free from unnecessary
synthetic ingredients,² said Ronnie Cummins, OCA founder and national
director.

The OCA has said that the complaint is likely to be withdrawn following
settlement talks over the next 30 days.
Copyright -

Unless otherwise stated all contents of this web site are © 2000/2005­
Novis. ­ All Rights Reserved.