Tag: organic
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Hydroponic Food May Be Labeled as ‘Organic,’ 9th Cir. Rules
A federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is not clearly required by federal law to issue a regulation barring hydroponic growers from labeling their goods as organic. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Vilsack, No. 21-15883 (9th Cir., entered September 22, 2022). A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of…
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AMS Proposes Amendments to Organic National List
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has proposed its regular update to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, which lists the synthetic substances allowed in the cultivation of organic products. The proposed additions are (i) low-acyl gellan gum, which is used as a thickener, and (ii) paper-based crop planting aids,…
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Foods Grown Hydroponically Can Be Labeled “Organic,” Court Affirms
The National Organic Program can continue to include foods grown through hydroponics following a ruling from a California federal court holding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) acted reasonably in concluding that the statutory scheme does not exclude hydroponics. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Perdue, No. 20-1537 (N.D. Cal., entered March 18, 2021). The…
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USDA Accepting Comments on Organic Rule Amendments
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting comments on the Agricultural Marketing Service’s proposed amendments to organic regulations concerning oversight and enforcement of the production, handling and sale of organic agricultural products. The proposed rule would require the use of National Organic Program Import Certificates for all organic products entering the United States and…
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Center for Food Safety Challenges Organic Certification for Hydroponic Food
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) and several agricultural firms have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) challenging the agency’s denial of the group’s petition seeking to ban organic certification of hydroponic food growers. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Perdue, No. 20-1537 (N.D. Cal., filed March 2, 2020). USDA denied CFS’s…
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Kansas City Star Digs Into Fraudulent Organics Purveyor
The Kansas City Star has detailed the story of Randy Constant, a Chillicothe, Missouri, man who fraudulently sold millions of dollars’ worth of “organic” grains—as much as 7% of all the corn and 8% of all the soybeans sold nationally as organic in 2016. Federal investigators began looking into Constant when a competitor tipped off…
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Updates to National List Published
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published a set of changes to the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, which documents the synthetic materials allowed or banned in the production and handling of organic agriculture. The amendments include the addition of “elemental sulfur for use as a molluscicide,” the addition of “polyoxin D…
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U.S. Agencies Announce Actions on Organics, NPIP, Hazard Analyses
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a number of developments in their work on organic food, poultry and food safety. FDA released an update on the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), announcing it will track outcomes for FSMA rules for inspections and recalls via the…