Action
Alert
Synthetic
Nutrients in Organic Foods?
USDA Seeks Public
Comment
Due December 26,
2012
The United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) is seeking public comment on a rule that would continue its
policy of allowing the indiscriminate and illegal addition of synthetic
nutrients to organic foods.
Nutrients occur naturally in
foods, and many are essential for good health. But organic consumers
expect that any added nutrients in processed foods be derived from natural or
organic sources rather than synthetic versions that are mass-produced in
laboratories and factories by chemical corporations, often using hazardous
petrochemical solvents.
If you agree that organic foods
should be free from unnecessary synthetic ingredients, as the federal organic
regulations require, please make your voice heard.
Make
your voice heard. Full instructions for commenting to the USDA :
http://www.cornucopia.org/instructions-for-submitting-public-comment/
Additional Background
In the past six months, organic
stakeholders won a string of victories at the National Organic Standards Board
(NOSB) meetings, which upheld organic integrity and rejected corporate
petitions for eight synthetic nutrients.
Rather than respect the organic
law and accept the NOSB recommendation and the will of the organic community,
corporate food manufacturers like Nestle have refused to remove the synthetic
nutrients from organic foods, and have turned instead to the USDA for
help.
Sadly, the USDA seems all too
eager to help them out. Despite a 2011 public apology by USDA Deputy
Secretary Kathleen Merrigan for the previous administration's creation of a
loophole in the organic standards, which led to the indiscriminate and illegal
addition of synthetic nutrients to organic foods, the USDA is now unwilling to
back this apology with concrete action, and is once again catering to corporate
interests.
The USDA initially proposed
closing the loophole in January 2012, and both the organic community and
corporate food manufacturers supported their proposed rule. But that was
before the NOSB voted on the petitions for synthetic nutrients. Food
manufacturers, such as Nestle, likely supported the initial proposed rule
because they expected that the NOSB would approve the synthetic nutrients that
they are currently putting in organic food (in the past, the NOSB has all too
often sided with corporate lobbyists in a desire to "grow" the
organic market).
When the NOSB rejected Nestle's
and other corporate petitions, the USDA tabled its initial proposed rule and
came out with a weakened rule that keeps the loophole and the illegal policy on
nutrients in place.
The organic community must make
clear that synthetic nutrients should be individually reviewed by the National
Organic Standards Board, and if approved, should be individually listed on the
National List of allowed materials. All loopholes and incorrect
interpretations of the organic standards must end now.
The NOSB, after considering
extensive public comment, has made clear that synthetic nutrients have no place
in organic foods. The USDA must take immediate enforcement against any
and all synthetic nutrients that are not on the National List of allowed materials
and that have been rejected by the National Organic Standards Board.
Not strictly following the law
passed by Congress to regulate organics (the Organic Foods Production Act of
1990), in this regard, will likely lead to a messy and expensive legal battle
for both the USDA (US citizens) and The Cornucopia Institute. Together, we must
demand that the spirit and letter of the law be followed.
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