Fall 2022 NOSB Meeting

Discussion Documents

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Proposals

• NOP Risk Mitigation Table review

• Beyond Pesticides' comments
• Submit your own comment here
• Background: On November 18, 2021, the National Organic Program (NOP) sent a memo to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) requesting that it review and facilitate public comment on the NOP Risk Mitigation Table. This table was developed in response to the 2020 Peer Review conducted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) National Accreditation Board and seeks to document the ways NOP safeguards impartiality in the delivery of services and oversight over accredited certifiers. The Certification, Accreditation and Compliance Subcommittee (CACS) reviewed the NOP Risk Mitigation Table and has determined that all potential conflicts were included and are clear. The CACS did not identify any additional potential conflicts to be included. CACS recommends that NOP incorporate the Risk Mitigation Table into their procedures.

Discussion Documents

• NOSB Technical Support Initiative

  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: During its Spring 2021 meeting the NOSB considered a discussion document on Human Capital Management: Supporting the Work of the NOSB. The CACS developed this discussion document seeking feedback for NOSB support specifically. The rationale for this initiative is simple. NOSB positions are not financially compensated, and many Board members have full time jobs. The time investment and workload for NOSB members can be 10-15 hours per week and this can potentially limit the number of people willing to take on board membership.

• Oversight Improvements to Deter Fraud

  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: This discussion document aims to build on two related topics: Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) (proposed rule) and Human Capital, by seeking input from the organic community on modernizing supply chain traceability to best match the size and scale of today’s industry and future needs. While the pending SOE rule pulls the industry forward in many ways, the Compliance, Accreditation & Certification Subcommittee (CACS) is suggesting additional tools such as an electronic organic link system (OLS), which could capture business-to-business sales providing continuity across the supply chain.

• Organic and Climate-Smart Agriculture

  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: With the announcement of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, the organic community engaged in a celebration of the forward-thinking funding and policy goals embracing our collective concern for a resilient farming future. The certified organic community has been involved in 20 years of consensus-making in a public-private partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) and the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The NOSB process represents countless hours of research, stewarding innumerable acts implementing a voluntary regulatory program through which producers are paid a premium for their systems-based approach (collection of climate-smart practices), by which consumers can be assured of climate-smart decision making with transparency and the force of law.

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Proposals

• Carbon Dioxide

  • Beyond Pesticides’ comments
  • Submit your own comments here
  • Background: Carbon dioxide is currently allowed for use as an ingredient in organic labeled processed food products: §205.605 Nonagricultural (nonorganic) substances allowed as ingredients in or on processed products labeled as “organic” or “made with organic (specified ingredients or food group(s)).” (b) Synthetic allowed: - Carbon dioxide. This petition requests the allowance of carbon dioxide in organic crop production. Carbon dioxide is understood to be a material with inherently low risk and is approved as a processing aid. Because carbon dioxide is a synthetic material, the Subcommittee discussions focused on the need and benefits of using carbon dioxide over other allowed alternatives.

• Potassium Hydroxide

  • Beyond Pesticides’ comments
  • Submit your own comments here
  • Background: The petition states that the intent is to use potassium hydroxide as a processing aid to facilitate emulsion of the invasive carp species to help support extraction of soluble organic compounds from the fish by means of alkaline hydrolysis. The petitioner states that the amount of potassium hydroxide used should be limited to the amount necessary for emulsion of the fish and once the process is completed phosphoric acid will be used to stabilize the product.

Potassium hydroxide is already on the National List and is allowed as a processing aid for the extraction of aquatic plant extracts (per 7 CFR 205.601(j)(1)) and humic acids (per 7 CFR 205.601(j)(3)). It is also allowed for extraction and emulsion of algae and its use has been thoroughly reviewed when it was added to the National List. 

Sunset

• • 2024 Sunset Substances Review

    • Beyond Pesticides' comments: Sunset 601
    • Submit your own comment here

    Herbicides, soap-based

    • Beyond Pesticides’ comments
    • Submit your own comments here
    • Background: As herbicides, soap-based herbicides are used as weed barriers, for use in farmstead maintenance (roadways, ditches, right of ways, building perimeters) and ornamental crops as a last resort.

Biodegradable biobased mulch film

• • • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Biodegradable biobased mulch film (BBMF) is used to suppress weeds, conserve water, and facilitate production of row crops. Some commenters have noted that having a degradable plastic mulch is likely to be more environmentally friendly than using landfills for the non-degradable plastic mulches. The requirement for 100% biobased feedstocks to manufacture the film is articulated in the preamble of the final rule that added Biodegradable biobased mulch film to the National List. Past commenters have acknowledged that there are currently very few options (other than difficult to use paper mulch) for 100% BBMF but have generally felt this
      listing should remain despite the fact that no 100% BBMF is available.

Boric Acid

• • • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: As an insecticide, boric acid is odorless. It attacks insect nervous and metabolic systems. It can also dehydrate insects and be abrasive to insect exoskeletons. It has been used as an insecticide since 1948 and is common in household insecticides. As a structural pest control tool, it is used as a bait which insects ingest and return to their colonies. As a result,
      it can eliminate entire pest colonies. This material is often used in packing sheds and other facilities. Many times, it is used as a powder introduced into cracks and crevices, and is essential for controlling ants and roaches. It has a number of industrial and medical uses and is often used as an amendment in boron-deficient soils.

Sticky Trap Barriers

• • • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comments here
    • Background: Pest control and monitoring. Also used with traps as a production aid.

Elemental Sulfur

• • • Beyond Pesticides’ comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: When used to manage slugs and snails, sulfur is formulated with attractants plus other “inert” ingredients and extruded into pellets. These are broadcast or hand-applied near crops needing protection. For this purpose, a 1% sulfur formulation is used at a labeled rate of up to 44 lbs. per acre, with an actual elemental sulfur application rate of up to 0.44 lbs. per acre. This is much lower than labeled rates for sulfur when used as a fungicide in formulations of 80% or 90% elemental sulfur.

Coppers fixed

• • • Beyond Pesticides’ comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Coppers, fixed was reviewed and approved for continued use during the October 2015 NOSB meeting. Coppers were considered to be an important tool for organic producers as part of a comprehensive approach to disease management in many crops. For example, copper products became an integrated part of fire blight control in pome fruits after antibiotics were removed from the National List. While some copper minerals and compounds occur in nature, products for agriculture are made from by-products of processing copper ores and are considered synthetic. Copper is on the list of exemptions for synthetic materials in OFPA at §
      6517(c)(1)(B)(i). Copper sulfate is also undergoing sunset review, and the Crops Subcommittee submitted a separate review.

Coppers sulphate

• • • Beyond Pesticides’ comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Copper sulfate was reviewed and approved for continued use during the October 2015 NOSB meeting. Coppers were considered to be an important tool for organic producers as part of a comprehensive approach to disease management in many crops. For example, copper products became an integrated part of fire blight control in pome fruits after antibiotics were removed from the National List. While some copper minerals and compounds occur in nature, products for agriculture are made from by-products of processing copper ores and are considered synthetic. Copper is on the list of exemptions for synthetic materials in OFPA at §
      6517(c)(1)(B)(i). Fixed coppers is also undergoing sunset review, and the Crops Subcommittee has submitted a separate review.

Polyoxin D zinc salt

• • • Beyond Pesticides' Comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Polyoxin D zinc salt is used as an agricultural fungicide. It has a locally systemic function, meaning that it is absorbed into surface plant tissues. It currently appears on the National List as plant disease control at 7 CFR 205.601(i). Few fungicides used in organic production are systemic, and polyoxin D zinc salt products may have greater efficacy against some plant disease organisms.

Humic Acids

• • • Beyond Pesticides' Comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Humic acids can be soil-applied or foliar applied depending on the specific product. Humic acid affects soil fertility by making micronutrients more readily available to plants rather than contributing additional nutrients to the soil. According to the 2006 TR, humic substances can chelate (bind) soil nutrients, improve nutrient uptake, reduce the need for nitrogen fertilizer, remove toxins from soils, stimulate soil biological activity, solubilize minerals, improve soil structure, and improve water holding capacity.

Micronutrients: Soluble boron products

• • • Beyond Pesticides' Comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Soluble boron is a crop micronutrient that can be soil-applied or applied foliarly. According to the technical review (TR), when compared to the other recognized plant micronutrients, boron deficiency is the most common. Every year, boron deficiency is responsible for significant crop losses, whether in volume or quality. Soluble boron products have appeared on the National List for use as micronutrients since it was first published in 2000.

Micronutrients: sulfates, carbonates, oxides, or silicates of zinc, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and cobalt

• • • Beyond Pesticides' Comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Micronutrients are essential for plant growth and are used across all types of crop production, but are typically required in very small quantities. Although some forms of micronutrients are found naturally in the soil, many producers find deficiencies of some or all of the micronutrients on the National List. These deficiencies can be a limiting factor in water and macro-nutrient uptake, and can result in limited growth and vitality of crops.

Vitamins B1, C, E

• • • Beyond Pesticides' Comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Vitamins, including synthetically derived C (ascorbic acid) and E (tocopherols), are generally considered non-toxic essential nutrients for terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Vitamins C and E are used to promote both growth and yields and to protect plants from oxidative stress due to salinity. During the previous sunset review (11/2017), vitamin B1 (thiamine) – which had been previously paired with the other two vitamins on the National List – was recommended for removal from the list on the basis that foliar and soil applications of the material did not stimulate root growth in transplanted crops. Rulemaking to remove B1 is in progress. A TR was completed on these materials in 2015. It did, however, lack practical information regarding the use of Vitamins C and E, and thus relied on peer-reviewed scientific literature.

Squid byproducts

• • • Beyond Pesticides' Comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Squid are invertebrates classified into the phylum Mollusca, class Cephalopoda and order Loligo (later renamed Doryteuthis). There are an estimated 300 squid species known throughout the world. Common to the northeastern Atlantic coast is the longfin squid, species Doryteuthis (Loligo) pealli. Common to the US west coast is the market squid, species Doryteuthis (Loligo) opalescens. The use of squid and squid byproducts in agriculture dates back to the 1800’s when much of the product was shipped from California market squid fisheries to Asian countries for consumption and fertilizer applications.  Squid and squid byproducts are the starting ingredients in the production of enzymatically produced hydrolysates with N-P-K values ranging from 2-2-2 to 3.3-7.3-2 or more. Seafood derived hydrolysates, including squid and squid byproducts, have been used both as foliar sprays and soil amendments for propagating cranberries, cherries, and apples.

• Prohibited nonsynthetic substances:

  • Beyond Pesticides' comments: Sunset 602

Lead Salts

• • • Beyond Pesticides’ comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Lead salts are used as both pesticides and herbicides.
      

Tobacco dust (nocotine sulfate)

• • • Beyond Pesticides’ comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Nicotine is a natural insecticide produced as a secondary metabolite in tobacco. Tobacco dust can be used in agriculture for pest control.

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Proposals

• Phosphoric Acid Annotation Change

  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Phosphoric acid is used in organic handling and processing as a cleaning agent for “food contact surfaces and equipment,”. Phosphoric acid has been approved for pH adjustment of some soil amendments (liquid fish products and squid byproducts) and as an equipment cleaner in both organic crop and livestock production. Phosphoric acid has been used as an ingredient in plant
    extractions. When used in this manner, phosphoric acid acts as an acidifying agent and stabilizer to facilitate more efficient extraction of target compoundsThe petition is intended to be limited to extracting target molecules from plants of the lamiaceae family. The extracted target molecules may be subsequently blended with appropriate carriers for help in proper dispersal across the surface of finished food products. Application depends on the finished food matrix as different extracts have hydrophilic or lipophilic properties.”

Sunset

• Sunset 202.605: Nonagricultural (Nonorganic) substances allowed as ingredients in or on processed products labeled as ‘‘organic’’ or ‘‘made with organic

  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
• Attapulgite
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Attapulgite is used as a natural bleaching clay for the purification of vegetable and animal oils. The function of a bleaching clay is to remove undesirable by-products (impurities) for the vegetable oil and animal fat, thus improving the appearance, flavor, taste, and stability of the final product. The major environmental issue is air quality because the dust during manufacture, use, or disposal. Repeated or prolonged inhalation of dust may cause delayed lung injury.
• Bentonite
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Bentonite is used as a processing aid, not an ingredient. Its adsorptive qualities make it useful for removing impurities in edible oils like soy, palm, and canola. It can also be used to clarify beer, fruit juice, wine, sugar, and honey and is not present in the final product.While mining  activities are regulated by other agencies, bentonite does derive from mining activities, which do produce negative impacts by definition.
• Diatomaceous earth
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Used as a filtering aid in food production of syrups, juices, beer, beverages, and other products. Diatomaceous earth is made from the fossilized remains of diatoms; their skeletons are made of a natural substance called silica. Diatoms accumulate in the sediment of rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans, and is mined in quarries or open-pit. One reviewer expressed concern for possible concentrations of mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, thallium, and antimony and the need to verify “food grade” quality of DE.
• Magnesium chloride
  • • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Magnesium chloride is used in organic food processing as a processing aid, as a coagulant/ firming agent in tofu production, and used in certified organic dietary supplements. It can also be used to dress cotton fibers, or as a color retention agent and as a source of essential mineral magnesium in infant formula.ublic comment suggested that while use of magnesium chloride for making tofu is consistent with organic practices, the use of this material for color enhancement may not be consistent with organic.
• Nitrogen
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Nitrogen is used to displace oxygen and thereby reduce oxidation of product during processing, storage, and packaging. It can be used in the flash freezing of foods. It also functions as a propellant when used under pressure and doesn’t have ozone-depleting properties. The use of nitrogen is permitted in organic processing in Canada, CODEX, EU, IFOAM, and Japan.
• Sodium carbonate
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Sodium carbonate is used as a raising (leavening) agent. Sodium carbonate (also referred to as washing soda or soda ash) can also be used as an anti-caking agent, as an acidity regulator, or as a stabilizer, as well as a neutralizer for butter, cream, fluid milk, and ice cream. Sodium carbonate is the material used to give pretzels and lye rolls their brown crust without burning. Sodium carbonate is also used in the processingof olives prior to canning, in the making of ramen noodles, and in cocoa products. Past comments have asked for clarification that manufacturing processes are considered non-synthetic and permitted under the current listing: 205.605(a) non-synthetics allowed.

• Acidified Sodium Chlorite
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Acidified sodium chlorite (ASC) solution is used as a processing aid in wash and/or rinse water, in accordance with the FDA limitation for use on direct food contact and indirect food contact: • Direct Food Contact (Secondary Direct Food Additive) ─ Poultry carcass, organs and parts; red meat carcass, organs and parts, seafood (finfish and crustaceans), and fruits and vegetables (raw and further processed); processed, comminuted or formed meat products; and • Indirect Food Contact ─ Hard surface food contact sanitation. Those in support stated that this is an essential tool in the fight against food borne pathogens. Those opposed to relisting stated that the NOSB should do a comprehensive review of sanitizers.

• Carbon dioxide
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Carbon dioxide is used in modified atmosphere packaging, modified atmospheric storage, the freezing of foods, beverage carbonation, as an extracting agent, and for pest control in grain and produce storage. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and its use in organic food production means there may be a delayed release to the atmosphere in some cases.

• Sodium phosphates
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Sodium phosphates are salts used as pH control agents and buffers, acidulants, sequestrants, texturizers, and nutrients in organic dairy products. They act as stabilizers in milk and as emulsifiers in cheese. Disodium phosphate can be used as a processing agent in heavy whipping cream, where it binds to milk minerals to prevent the milk from coating the equipment during processing. Sodium phosphates are used in some organic milk products, such as half-and-half and heavy whipping cream, to stabilize the milk protein and to ensure the products do not separate or lose protein prior to consumer use. Sodium phosphates are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) across multiple regulatory entities. During the previous sunset review, stakeholders in support of the material’s use in organics stated that sodium phosphate is essential in organic cheese products, including liquid and powdered forms, specifically as an emulsifier and stabilizer for shelf stable cheese products. Opposing stakeholders have expressed concern about potential human health impacts (the 2016 technical report was inconclusive) and material essentiality. Some studies have indicated that high levels of phosphate consumption can accelerate aging and vascular damage.

•  

• Sunset 205.606 Non-agricultural Materials Used in Processing and Handling:

  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
• Casings
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: The intestines of beef, lamb, and pork are used to make natural casings for sausage. The alternative material for casings is synthetic cellulose or synthetic collagen. Casings have not received GRAS status, according to the 2019 TR. Comments were in favor of retaining use of non-organically produced casings as an option for production of organic sausage meat. Concerns were raised about the need to incentivize production of organic casings but that was viewed as a long-term effort.

• Pectin
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Pectin is extracted from citrus and pome fruits but so far there is no organic supply of extracted pectin. It is used as a gelling agent in jams, preserves, fillings and other products. It is a desirable ingredient in organic food because it allows food to gel with less sugar than would be used without it. The excess sugar has the potential for more negative human health effects than pectin. A comment from an interest group stated pectin should be limited to high methoxyl pectin (HMP), extracted from citrus peel and apple pomace, and wanted an evaluation to take into consideration the use of pesticides in the production of the non-organic raw materials.
• Potassium acid tartrate
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Potassium acid tartrate is a by-product of wine making. It is commonly known as Cream of Tartar. It is used in baked goods, a component of baking powder, for stabilizing egg whites or other food uses, pH control, and as an antimicrobial agent (2017 TR). A detailed discussion of the historical documents relevant to potassium acid tartrate is provided in the 2017 TR.

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Sunset

• 205.603 Sunsets: Synthetic substances allowed for use in organic livestock production

  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
• Chlorhexidine
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background:Used as an antimicrobial during surgery for cleansing wounds, skin, and equipment. Also used as a pre and post teat dip to aid in controlling bacteria that cause mastitis. There are numerous synthetic disinfectants currently on the National List for organic livestock production, including iodine, ethanol, isopropanol, sodium hypochlorite, and hydrogen peroxide. Not all alternatives to chlorhexidine are useful in both a surgical environment and as a teat dip, as allowed under the chlorhexidine annotation. Chlorhexidine reportedly kills mastitis-causing pathogens faster than iodine and is more persistent in its disinfection activity. Chlorhexidine is gentler on the skin than iodine, which is especially useful in northern climates where an irritated udder and teats can be especially problematic for the animals in cold winter months. Approved legal uses of the substance include disinfection during livestock surgery, on teats pre and post milking, and on milking equipment. Chlorhexidine is also used in food processing as a hard surface disinfectant and in human dentistry as a mouth wash and to disinfect equipment.
• Glucose
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Glucose is a synthetic substance allowed in organic livestock production for medical treatment. For animal health purposes, glucose is used primarily as an aid in the treatment of ketosis in cattle. Additionally, glucose is an important remedy for dehydration, neonatal hypoglycemia, as an ingredient in formulated electrolyte solutions, and as an excipient.
• Tolazoline
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Tolazoline is limited to use only by a veterinarian prescription and is further restricted for “use only to reverse the effects of sedation caused by xylazine.” Xylazine is primarily used in veterinary medicine as a sedative, tranquilizer, and analgesic. Sedation of animals is necessary for both planned medical procedures and emergency procedures to prevent pain and suffering, well as injury to the veterinarians performing the procedures. Tolazoline is commonly used as a reversal agent for xylazine, by competing for the α2-adrenergic receptors, blocking binding events for xylazine. Structural similarities with xylazine allow tolazoline to compete with xylazine for biological binding sites, providing the mode of action for its approved use in organic livestock production as a reversal agent for xylazine. Tolazoline is used only for veterinary applications, with no natural alternatives or USDA-approved synthetic alternatives. There are no alternative practices that would make the anesthetic agent unnecessary. Tolazoline may be made unnecessary by allowing the veterinary subject to recover from the effects of xylazine by natural metabolism of the substance, rather than its active reversal. However, the rate of xylazine metabolism is species-dependent; therefore, this may prove problematic in species with slower metabolic rates (e.g., cattle).
• Copper sulfate
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: Copper sulfate is listed on the National List of allowed synthetic substances for use in organic livestock production at § 205.603 as a topical treatment, external parasiticide or local anesthetic. Copper ions have been reported to have antimicrobial activity against a wide range of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and fungi. The exact mechanisms by which copper sulfate exerts its biocidal effect is a source of numerous ongoing investigations in the scientific literature. Copper sulfate has been used as a footbath antiseptic to help control and prevent infectious hoof disease problems that affect the skin adjacent to the claw horn of dairy cattle and sheep i.e., digital dermatitis (DD) (hairy heel warts), foot rot lesions (interdigital area and invading the subcutaneous tissue), and heel erosions. Depending on the severity of the infection, the impact on managed cattle and or sheep ranges from minor discomfort to severe debilitating lameness, reproductive problems and in the dairy industry a reduction of milk production ranging from 20 to 50 percent [2015 TR, 93 – 98].
• Elemental sulfur
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background:
    Elemental sulfur is currently allowed for use in organic production as an insecticide, for plant disease control, as a plant or soil amendment, and as a pesticide for domestic livestock.
    Elemental sulfur is granulated to a fine powder (325 mesh) for use as a pesticide (control for mites,
    insects, fungi, and rodents) in livestock production. The particle size for this powder is 44 microns
    (0.0017 inches) or less. Sulfur is dusted liberally and rubbed into feathers or hair. Sulfur dusting and or spraying is used for both the animals and their respective accommodations. Livestock species include chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, game birds, pigeons, equine species, cattle, swine, sheep, and goats. However, the EEC, IFOAM, and Japan do not allow sulfur use on livestock. Evidently, their farmers use other practices or products for this purpose. 
• Lidocaine
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background:Lidocaine is a local anesthetic used to reduce or prevent pain during de-budding horns in livestock, or general minor surgery on mature livestock. They numb only the area to be worked on. Humane treatment of animals is critically important, and the public expects high standards of animal welfare for organic livestock. A lengthy withholding period after treatment may result in animals not being treated in a timely manner, or not being treated at all. Section 205.238 establishes a livestock healthcare practice standard permitting physical alterations needed to promote animal welfare in a manner which minimizes stress, and further that a producer must not withhold medical treatment in an effort to preserve its organic status.

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Proposals

• Excluded Methods Spring 2022
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here
  • Background: At the November 18, 2016, in-person National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meeting, the NOSB recommended that the National Organic Program (NOP) develop a formal guidance document for the determination and listing of excluded methods. The 2016 recommendation, entitled “Excluded Methods Terminology,” clarifies excluded method definitions and criteria in response to the increasing diversity in the types of genetic manipulations performed on seed, livestock, and other biologically based resources used in agriculture. Genetic engineering is a rapidly expanding field in science. To be responsive to this rapid expansion, the NOSB will continue to list new methods for review and will determine over time if the methods are or are not acceptable in organic agriculture. In addition to the 2016 recommendation, a discussion document provided a “To Be Determined (TBD) list” of technologies needing further review to determine if they should be classified as excluded methods or not; this proposal continues the work established in 2016. The organic community, as well as the NOSB, has voiced a consistent, unanimous stance that direct manipulation of genes through in vitro nucleic acid techniques should be considered
    as excluded methods.
    Cell Fusion is listed specifically in the regulations under (7 CFR 205.2) under terms defined as an
    excluded method. In 2013, Policy Memo 13-1 clarified cell and protoplast fusion as mimicking natural phenomenon with the limiting factor of [use when the original cells are within the same taxonomic plant family. In the October 2021 NOSB meeting, the Board put forth a discussion document to clarify whether cell and protoplast fusion are excluded methods when the techniques are employed within taxonomic plant families. Note that in recent years, protoplast fusion is the scientifically preferred term for cell fusion as used in plant breeding. This document will continue to distinguish them as is necessary for the purpose of clarity.

Discussion Documents

• Research Priorities 2022
  • Beyond Pesticides' comments
  • Submit your own comment here 
  • Background: Overall: The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) presents an annual list of research priorities for organic food and agriculture. The NOSB requests that integrated research be undertaken with consideration of the whole farm system, recognizing the interplay of agroecology, the surrounding environment, and both native and farmed species of plants and animals.

We offer a few suggestions for additional research priorities.

• Copper sulfate in rice production
  • • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: In 2012, copper sulfate in rice production was identified as a research priority, with
      specific questions addressing hazards to aquatic organisms, fate of copper materials, and
      alternative practices. In our comments on the sunset of copper sulfate, we present information
      documenting ongoing hazards to aquatic organisms from the use of copper sulfate in rice.
• Contaminated inputs into organic crop production
  • • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Another issue that has fallen off the NOSB agenda is the examination of contaminated inputs. In 2015, the NOSB recommended a system of evaluation of potentially contaminated inputs into organic crop production.1 In view of the use of organic materials in organic systems that originate in chemical-intensive systems—ranging from manure to grass clippings to commercial or municipal composts—the investigation of possible sources of contamination is important.
• Plastics in organic
  • • Beyond Pesticides' comments
    • Submit your own comment here
    • Background: Plastic is found in every facet of organic production and handling. Yet, the human and environmental health implications of plastic are becoming increasingly well-documented.
      Scientists are increasingly concerned about the impacts of microplastics—plastic fragments less
      than 5 mm in size in size—on a wide range of organisms. Microplastics can cause harmful
      effects to humans and other organisms through physical entanglement and physical impacts of
      ingestion. They also act as carriers of toxic chemicals that are adsorbed to their surface. Some
      studies on fish have shown that microplastics and their associated toxic chemicals bioaccumulate, resulting in intestinal damage and changes in metabolism.2 Microplastics can
      increase the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment.

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