USDA Will Make Changes to Organic Standards Rule

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman announced on Friday that the USDA will make fundamental revisions to its proposed national organic standards as a result of the 200,000 comments USDA received on the initial proposal.

"USDA is committed to developing national organic standards that organic farmers and consumers will embrace," Glickman said. "Thousands of commenters requested that USDA issue revised proposed standards, and we intend to do so. Most importantly, the revised proposal will contain fundamental changes from our initial draft."

The bulk of the extraordinary number of comments opposed including the products of biotechnology, the use of irradiation in food processing, and the application of biosolids in organic food production.

"Biotechnology, irradiation, and biosolids are safe and have important roles to play in agriculture, but they neither fit current organic practices nor meet current consumer expectations about organics, as the comments made clear," said Glickman. "Therefore, these products and practices will not be included in our revised proposal, and food produced with these products and practices will not be allowed to bear the organic label."

Similarly, many of the comments asserted that national organic standards must be rigorous and credible in order for consumers to have faith in the organic label.

"If organic farmers and consumers reject our national standards, we have failed," Glickman said. "Our task is to stimulate the growth of organic agriculture, ensure that consumers have confidence in the products that bear the organic label, and develop export markets for this growing industry."

Comments submitted in response to the December 1997 proposal will guide the drafting of the revised proposal, which USDA will issue for public comment later this year.

Edited by Pam Ahlberg