Non-food Products Cannot Carry USDA Organic Seal

Non-food Products Cannot Carry USDA Organic Seal

WASHINGTONAs of Oct. 21, 2005,organic non-food products, including personal care products, dietarysupplements, fertilizers, soil amendments, manure and related materials, fishand seafood, and pet foods, will not be allowed to carry the USDA (U.S.Department of Agriculture) Organic Seal or make any other claims suggestingthese products are made under the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), accordingto a new scope document published by NOP (www.ams.usda.gov/nop/NOP/GuidanceStatements.htm).In effect, USDA is stating it has noauthority over organic claims for these types of products.

In effect, consumers wont know if the organic claim on anon-food product is real or not, said Ronnie Cummins, executive director ofthe Organic Consumers Association (OCA). OCA condemns the USDA failure toregulate organic labeling, in particular for personal care products. Under thenew scope document, it is our understanding that manufacturers of personal careproducts labeled organic or made with organic ingredients will becompletely unregulated from now on opening the door to massive labeling fraudwhile punishing companies that have made significant investments in certifiedingredients in recent years.