[USCC] Fwd: USDA Proposes Revisions to the National Organic Food Program Regulations - regulations may be used a s ingredients in or on processed products labele d as 'organic' or ‘made with organic (specifie d ingredients or food group(s))’ ..." ...

[Jim McNelly]

>Y
>*   USDA Proposes Revisions to the National Organic Food Program 
>Regulations - The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has issued a 
>proposed rule that would amend " ... the National Organic Program 
>(NOP) regulations to comply with the final judgment in the case of 
>Harvey v. Johanns (Harvey) issued on June 9, 2005, by the U.S. 
>District Court, District of Maine, and to address the November 10, 
>2005, amendment made to the Organic Foods Production Act ... 
>concerning the transition of dairy livestock into organic 
>production. Further, this proposed rule amends the NOP regulations 
>to clarify that only nonorganically produced agricultural products 
>listed in the NOP regulations may be used as ingredients in or on 
>processed products labeled as 'organic' or 'made with organic 
>(specified ingredients or food group(s)).' In accordance with the 
>final judgment in Harvey, the revision emphasizes that only the 
>nonorganically produced agricultural ingredients listed in the NOP 
>regulations can be used in accordance with any specified 
>restrictions and when the product is not commercially available in 
>organic form ... To comply with the court order in Harvey, USDA is 
>required to publish final revisions to the NOP regulations within 
>360 days of the court order, or by June 4, 2006 ... Accordingly, 
>this proposed rule amends the NOP regulations to eliminate the use 
>of up to 20 percent nonorganically produced feed during the first 9 
>months of the conversion of a whole dairy herd from conventional to 
>organic production. This proposed rule also addresses the amendment 
>made to the OFPA concerning the transition of dairy livestock into 
>organic production by allowing crops and forage from land included 
>in the organic system plan of a dairy farm that is in the third year 
>of organic management to be consumed by the dairy animals of the 
>farm during the 12-month period immediately prior to the sale of 
>organic milk and milk products ..." - Comments due to AMS by May 12, 
>2006 - USDA AMS NOP Contact: Mark Bradley at 202 720 3252; fax: 202 
>205 7808; e-mail: 
><mailto:Mark.Bradley at USDA.gov>Mark.Bradley at USDA.gov - USDA AMS April 
>27 Federal Register: 
><http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/06-4006.htm>http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/06-4006.htm 
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>
>Jack Cooper
>
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>Jack L. Cooper
>Food Industry Environmental Network, LLC
>33 Falling Creek Court, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904
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>Cindy Roberts
>Food Industry Environmental Network, LLC
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>Phone: 202 669 6951 --- E-Mail: CAR at fien.com