2001 10-15 General

Comments of the Organic Trade Association

to the National Organic Standards Board

October 15, 2001

The Organic Trade Association has been very pleased to be able to comment on a variety of items the National Organic Standards Board has taken up for possible recommendation.  OTA commends the NOSB for employing such an open, participatory process.

One slight amendment to the process would give OTA even more pleasure in participation:  to allow a 45-day comment period instead of a 30-day comment period, a position OTA first voiced at the public comment period at the end of the last NOSB meeting.  OTA itself employs an unusually participatory process.  OTA’s Quality Assurance Committee is charged with reviewing organic standards and is comprised of the chairs of eleven subcommittees, which represent the various sectors of the organic industry.  It can take some time for all of the interested subcommittees to schedule and complete the necessary conference calls, and there has been at least one instance of an item being referred back to subcommittees after the Quality Assurance Committee discovered a potentially novel consequence of adopting a policy.

OTA would like to reiterate its opposition to requiring certification for distribution and retail operations handling what the draft proposal calls “impermeable” containers.  The Distribution Subcommittee of OTA’s Quality Assurance Committee tried over the course of an entire year to define “impermeable” but was unable to agree on a satisfactory definition.  No definition is offered as part of the proposal, and given the fact that distributors and retailers are already required to prevent commingling and contamination, OTA believes this change not only to be unnecessary, but to add a potentially very heavy burden on distributors and retailers.

OTA has received well over a hundred responses to a questionnaire about pasture practices but has not yet completed the data analysis.  Preliminary data indicate that well over half of organic dairy farmers feed their cows between 30-50% pasture grass; 15% of organic dairy farmers allow between 20 and 30% pasture, and ten percent allow less than 10% pasture.  Of those who pasture their cows significantly, the range in summer varies between 50 and 100% pasture grass.  There is some variation by age and whether a dairy cow is dry or lactating.  OTA will continue to work on analyzing the data and make a report publicly available when completed.

OTA would also like to inform NOSB that we are working with USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) on an outreach program to organic producers.  NOSB members are welcome to work with OTA collaborating on the NRCS program.  Please contact Tom Hutcheson (thutcheson@ota.com) for more information. 

OTA supports NOSB’s intention to appoint a peer review panel soon enough so that the peer review panel may lend NOP appropriate technical support in the development and implementation of NOP’s accreditation program.

OTA is concerned that at least one certifier may have been treated differently from others by requiring them to change their by-laws before applying for accreditation, while others have been told to apply even though changes have not been made.  OTA urges NOSB to recommend to NOP that NOP address any perceived unfairness through a written statement.  In addition, when considering the effect of certifier requirements, OTA requests that NOSB recommend to NOP that NOP consider the number of certified operations affected by a decision as well as the number of certifiers affected.

OTA also requests NOSB to recommend to NOP that not-for-profit organizations which are separate programs housed in the same organization as a certification agent be permitted to receive and distribute donations for charitable and educational purposes.

OTA strongly urges NOSB to recommend to NOP that a quality system manual for program accreditation be written, as required by ISO 61, to obviate inconsistent decisions.

OTA is concerned that NOP has not ruled yet on the technical correction regarding certification of final labelers, and urges NOSB to continue advocating this change, which OTA believes is simply clarifying the intent of the Organic Foods Production Act.  OTA has recently learned that the Conseil d’Accreditation du Quebec has issued a ruling that clarifies and tightens the requirement for private-label manufacturers.

OTA is in the process of trying to determine how various standards will work out in practice.  While the following two positions on livestock issues are not yet official OTA policy, they do represent the direction of the Livestock Subcommittee of OTA’s Quality Assurance Committee.

OTA’s Livestock Subcommittee wishes to express unanimously that its reading of part of Section 236 is that replacement animals for dairy which have been under organic management for one year may be used if organic replacement animals are not available.  If this is not the understanding of the NOSB Livestock Committee, or of NOP, please inform OTA of your interpretation.  The goal of OTA’s Livestock Subcommittee is to refine the standard, working towards a higher bar once organic heifers are commercially available, perhaps eventually recommending organic management from the last 3 months of gestation.

Regarding access to the outdoors for poultry, OTA is leaning towards interpreting this to mean an area without a roof.  It is important to note that this is not a nutritional requirement, or free-range requirement, but a matter of humane treatment.  In addition, this is an issue that must be addressed in the farm plan, especially as it relates to manure management.  OTA will keep the NOSB informed as proposed program requirements are developed, including how to deal with the issue of raising broilers in winter.