Organic program
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service and National Organic Program officials met with the National Organic Standards Board and the Organic Trade Association June 9 to discuss issues relating to a guidance that declared personal care cannot be certified under NOP. Guidance was released in April but was subsequently retracted by AMS under pressure from industry and Congress; however, agency maintains NOP never applied to personal care products (1"The Rose Sheet" May 10, 2004, p. 9). June 9 meeting was intended to prompt "constructive action on future policies for the organic industry," trade group says, and was held at the request of Department of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, who instructed AMS to work with the advisory board and industry on NOP issues (2"The Rose Sheet" May 31, 2004, p. 5)...